


What happens on the mountain...

by DeathandDespairQueen



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF, Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Australia, Cannibalism, Character Death, Decapitation, Don't Try This At Home, Everybody Dies, Geoff needs a drink, Graphic Description of Corpses, I Don't Even Know, Major Character Injury, Multi, Papa Geoff Ramsey, Romance, Ryan is kind of overdramatic, Sexy nurse outfit from lets play live, Skype, The romance is in Chapter 9 and it is literally the worst thing i've ever written, Until Dawn AU, it references the games deaths, jack and caiti are featured in a a skype call, like a run where everyone dies, mentions of additional characters, okay so everyone is kind of overdramatic, sorry lol, they might appear at the end, until dawn crossover, wendigoes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-08-11 11:35:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 40,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7890169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathandDespairQueen/pseuds/DeathandDespairQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Jones family owns a beautiful private mountainside ski lodge. Every so often, their son Michael will bring a select group of teenagers up the mountain for a long weekend of skiing and relaxation. </p><p>This was supposed to be an innocent ski trip. It wasn't supposed to end like this. But the Jones' live by a specific code: What happens on the mountain, stays on the mountain. And the things that have happened there lead to a world of trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! So I've been playing with this idea for a while now! I know, the whole crossover thing is probably worn the hell out at this point in time. 
> 
> A lot of the personality for the characters in this comes from the Off Topic Podcast and Let's Plays from the past (and a few from the future.) The gang might come off as a little OOC for a while.
> 
> ALSO: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, INJURY, AND CHARACTER DEATH IN LATER CHAPTERS. PLEASE BE AWARE OF THIS WHILE READING. 
> 
> Please leave your reviews and constructive criticism in the comment section if you have any! 
> 
> Enjoy!

   "Welcome to Fort Asshole, everyone." Michael Jones stripped off his snow soaked bomber jacket and tossed it onto the couch just inside the entryway to his family's mountainside ski lodge. He was followed by a small rag-tag looking group of teenagers that he called his friends.

    "Thanks a lot for bringing us all up here," Lindsay Tuggey chirped as she brushed the quick melting snow from her bleach blonde hair. "Yeah, but did we really have to come up here in the middle of the night?" Another voice grumbled from the back of the pack. Ray Narvaez Jr. removed his thin purple hoodie and tossed it to the floor next to the unlit fireplace. A majority of the group did the same and shed their coats.

   "Sorry, Ray. Some of us actually have jobs to do during the day." The red head quipped sarcastically with a mild sneer. His lips moved back into their neutral positions. "Besides, we have the whole night to just chill out. No one in their right mind would be out and about on a dangerous mountain this late at night." A pause. "That's why I made sure the kegs were stocked before rounding you guys up here." Geoff pumped his fist in silent triumph. The dynamic Haywood-Turney duo conversed quietly, with Meg's boyfriend Gavin casually adding his 2 cents every so often. Jeremy dug into the pocket of his letterman's jacket and fished out his phone. "Greenette isn't a word…. is it?" He glanced over to Lindsay, who simply shrugged.

   Michael cleared his throat harshly. "ANYWAYS! Welcome to my family's humble abode. I'm sure you'll find your stay to be quite top. We have the finest selections of non-perishable food in the cabinets and plenty of bevs in the kegs and fridges for your enjoyment." Ray's hand shot into the air. "Please, sir, save your questions until after the tour. Upstairs is where you will be staying for the next three to four days (weather dependent). We have about 3 guest rooms and another smaller cabin up the trail a ways. Some of you are gonna have to bunk up." Immediately the group began gravitating into potential bunking groups. Gavin looked a bit torn between bunking with his boi or with his girl. The Jersey boy moved on regardless.

   "If you want you can rest up, and we'll hit the slopes in the morning. Or you can not be a puss and party with the cool kids around the house." Ray's hand shot up again, and again went ignored. "Any questions?" Jeremy raised his hand. "You guys got a bathroom? I reek." Michael nodded and gestured to the upstairs. "It's the room with a shower in it. Yell if you get lost. Anyone else?" "I think Turney and I are gon' head out to that guest cabin." The Brit piped in. He shot a sly wink to Michael, who rebuked with an equally sly wink.

   "Yeah, me and Ray might head out there too." Ryan said. His decision was more likely than not based on the premise of ruining Gavin's hypothetical sex life, but honestly who was going to try and stop him? Ray's hand still stood tall in the air. "I'm gonna stay here and get trashed. Y'know, like a normal Friday night." The oldest member of the group was already half way to the kitchen as the words left his lips. Jeremy gathered up his things and headed up the stairs for the bathroom. That left Lindsay and Ray, arm still poised high in the air. The bleach blonde shrugged. "I guess I'll chill with you and Geoff, Michael."

   "Then it's settled. And remember: What happens on the mountain, stays on the mountain." Michael finally turned to Ray. "You, what's your query?"

   "Where do you keep your weed?"

   "Get the fuck out of my cabin."

* * *

THE WOODS: GAVIN, MEG, RYAN, AND RAY. 11:52 PM, 8 hours until dawn.

   "So where exactly is this guest cabin?" Meg asked. They were back out in the cold dark woods, lugging their suitcases along the nearly abandoned path to what at this point in time could be considered Schrödinger's cabin. "Maybe Michael just wanted a few of us out of the main cabin. There are a lot of us here this weekend." Ryan shrugged. "I doubt Michael would stretch the truth when it comes to the stuff he's packing." A muffled 'you'd be surprised' left Gavin's mouth barely above a whisper. For a solid ten minutes all that could be heard was the crunch of snow beneath their boots as they moved around and over rocks and fallen tree limbs.

"So how did Michael's family get this loaded anyways?" Meg asked once more. "I don't think he ever told me the story."

"Something about cable I think. Jersey thing."

"He comes out here each year and fixes up some of the electrical shit for his folks. Probably why he hauled us up here this weekend." Ryan said in response. "That and he's not a terrible friend all the time. And never really on purpose." He paused. "I think."

   Another pregnant pause filled the air as they continued their trek. After a long awkward while Meg and Ryan began a quiet conversation, slowly migrating away from the remaining two. "Hey. We have an idea."

   "Uh oh."

  "Ray don't be a shit. Rye and I were thinking that we could split up and look for the cabin in two groups instead of one huge one. If we find it, we text each other and meet up there." Gavin let out a hurt noise, a weird amalgamation between a squawk and what you might think a goat would make if it was suddenly struck in the backside with a blunt object. "Split up? We don't even have torches! What it we get lost?"

   "You're a big boy, Gavy. I'm sure it'll be just fine." The vibrant woman leaned in and pecked her boyfriend on the cheek. "We'll meet up as soon as one of us finds the cabin." She reassured him. Ray shot Ryan a look, who nodded in return. They were just a text away. Even though he had agreed to splitting, he knew the kind of trouble the notorious "X-Ray and Vav" could get into when left to their own devices. "See you soon guys!" Ray gave a weak wave goodbye before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

   "So we're really letting them leave us? You don't think it's kinda creepy out here? What if we run into some maniac with a chainsaw or a hook hand?"

   "Man door hand hook car door"

   "NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR MEMES, RAY!"

   The duo continued their walk through the now much emptier woods. Schrödinger's cabin was no where in sight. Doubt began to sink into the two lads. Maybe there wasn't a cabin out here after all. Maybe Michael had duped them all just to laugh at their faces when they stumbled back into the main lodge hours later cold and pissed. While unlikely, Ray wouldn't put it past Michael. That kid did stupid shit for money. "Hey remember that time you bet Michael like, 200 bucks to drink a bottle of ketchup or something?"

  "It was barbecue sauce. Remember that time I punted a yoga ball into your arse?"

  "Touché, my friend."

* * *

 

THE CABIN BATHROOM: JEREMY

   Jeremy pulled his shirt off. Warm water was pouring into the tub as the green haired boy checked his phone. The signal was weak. The nearest cell tower was on the other side of the mountain after all. Jeremy sighed. At least he could relax in a nice warm bath after such a long cold walk up here. Though he wished he could keep his friends back in civilization updated.

   Oh well, Mica could wait until after they got back from Winter Break. He put his phone on the sink countertop and slid into the water. He turned the tap off slowly as the warmth spread throughout his entire body. This was bliss.

   Jeremy sat in silence for what seemed like ages before he started to doze off. Those Jones' sure were loaded. A whole mountain side lodge and ski resort to themselves. That had to cost a pretty penny. At least Michael was kind enough to invite his friends up here to enjoy the luxuries as well. Now that he thought of it, he had never met the rest of Michael's family, had he? He might have seen his brothers every so often, but he couldn't recall if he had ever been properly introduced to his parents.

   They would have to right that once they got back from break.

* * *

 

THE LIVING ROOM: MICHAEL, LINDSAY, GEOFF.

   "Has anyone died on this mountain?" Lindsay questioned. The three of them had partaken in a drink and were settled on the big comfy couches in front of the fireplace. Geoff was kneeling in front of said fireplace, trying to light a small fire to keep them warm while they relaxed. "Probably." Michael replied. He took a small sip of his beer. "There used to be mines running through it. Wouldn't be shocked if a miner or two bit it while down there." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I never really bothered to ask about it."

    "The real question is why you wanted to know." Geoff replied from the fireplace. The blonde shrugged. "I dunno. I thought I saw a Ouija Board upstairs and I thought we could-"

   "No."

    "Aw, c'mon Michael, why not?" The fiery redhead glanced over at his pouting friend. "Because I like coming up here and I'd rather not haunt the fuck out of it." "It's a classic horror movie set up. Even bad ones start like that. Kid finds a Ouija board, kid fucks with said board. The black guy dies."

    "See Geoff gets it." Lindsay rolled her eyes. "You guys are wusses. We might not even get into contact with a spirit cause there might not be any up here! It'll be fun! And besides, we can just take some anti-haunting precautions!" Her eyes were filled with a pathetic pleading gaze and her lower lip jutted out slightly. Michael considered his options. Sure there was on off chance that someone vengeful had died on this mountain, and it was possible that the cheap toy would actually summon their spirit. But he didn't want to just sit around all night anyways, and he did kind of like the idea of it. The thrill of the possible danger. Plus…. Lindsay's pouty eyes were one of his weaknesses.

    "Fine. Go upstairs and find it. Geoff and I will start 'spirit proofing' the lodge." Lindsay let out an appreciative squeal and darted up the stairs the relocate the Ouija Board. "Hey Ramsey, you ready for this or what?" Geoff concentrated on his work until a tiny spark suddenly ignited a nice warm ball of fire that steadily grew inside the fireplace. His mustached face twisted into a self-satisfied grin. "Yeah, lets do it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the night continues, things in the woods began to go south. Back in the cabin is a different story all together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly me trying to write Meg without knowing much about Meg. I love her so much though. 
> 
> Also the whole crew isn't here (Mica and Jack...) is because I kind of forgot about Jack for a while and Mica Burton is too good and doesn't deserve this kind of horror. 
> 
> There is a chance that Mica and Jack will appear towards the end but they will not be on the mountain in person.

THE WOODS: MEG AND RYAN

12:25 AM, 7 hours until dawn.

    Ryan Haywood was many things. Bold, yet sensitive at times. Witty. Some might say handsome. And at this moment in time, he was also helplessly lost in the middle of the night on a dangerous mountain. "We've passed that tree twice now." Meg quipped. He glanced over at her. Meg's nose was turning a bright red from the cold air and her gloved hands were shaking. Shit. They had to find this cabin soon. Just seeing Meg shiver like this made him wonder how the other two were doing right now. 

    "Yeah, I think you're right." He muttered. He squinted into the darkness, blue eyes searching for the distinct shape that a cabin would form. He could barely see a thing even with the light of his cellphone. His gaze turned to his partner momentarily. She was also squinting, holding her phone inches from her face. "The signal out here is awful. I hope we can still text Gavin and Ray..." Ryan shrugged. While his exterior was nonchalant, his brain was shifting into panic mode. Even in the darkness he could see the slightest hint of snow beginning to fall. It was already cold enough out here. 

    Meg pushed a strand of purple hair behind her bright red ear. Her face was beginning to morph into one of concern. "I should call him. Just to be sure." Her pace didn't slow as she dialed her boyfriend's number. In fact, she seemed to speed up a bit as she waited for the Brit to pick up. "Oh Gavin," she muttered, "Please please please pick up!" Ryan trailed behind her, catching the hood of her puffy jacket as she stumbled over a log or wrapping an arm around her waist as they slid carefully down the wall of a small drop off and over a nearly frozen creek.

    Once they were again on solid ground he slowly released his hold on her. "I can't get through!" Meg cried. She was getting frustrated. "First the cabin, and now my boyfriend! This is crazy!" She punched in the number once more, angrily listening to the dial tone. "Maybe we should head back to them. Or at least back to where we left them." Meg's step size increased, carrying her farther from Ryan. "Meg, come on." His legs were longer than hers and it took him very little time to meet her stride. "Meg. Come on. Ray and Gavin are waiting on us."

   "Relax Ryan. I'm sure if we keep going we'll find either a signal or something!" She broke into a light jog, and then a run. "Let's go old man! Can't keep u-" What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Ryan was unable to keep up with her and her sudden increase of speed. So when her boots slammed down onto a weak patch of grass covered in a light dusting of snow he could only watch in horror as her foot went through the soft Earth. Ryan could only watch as Meg's hands flew out to catch herself and how they caught the ledge of the newly formed human sized hole.

    He could only grasp where her gloved hands had once been as her grip slipped and she plummeted into the darkness with a scream. "NO! TURNEY! TURNEY! MEG!!!"

* * *

 

THE WOODS: GAVIN AND RAY

 

   Gavin's head perked up. "D'you hear that?" Ray looked up as well. They stopped their trek momentarily to listen for the sound once more. "It sounds like howling." Ray stated. "Maybe the wind is picking up. You got any news from Ryan and Turney about the cabin?"

   "No... The signal isn't very good either. I hope that it gets better the farther we go. Wouldn't want to walk all the way back to go get them." The Puerto Rican shrugged. "Yeah. I kinda think it was a stupid idea to split up like that. I mean we are on a mountain. The signal is gonna be shit with like a singular cell tower in the area." His British companion kicked up a small cloud of snow in frustration. "This is mad!" His face fell into a pout and he muttered. "I just wanted some time with my girlfriend..."

   Ray almost felt bad for Gavin. Almost. "What, am I suddenly not good enough for you? I thought what we had was special." 

   "Sorry lad, but it will always be Meg over you. She's wonderful. Everything about her. She's funny and smart and beautiful! Plus her hair! It's always changing." A dreamy look crossed his face. Ray shrugged once more. He understood what his friend saw in Meg Turney. She was all of those things he had said about her. Every girl at their school wanted her as a friend and every boy wanted her at their side. Gavin was just lucky enough to get the best of both worlds. 

   "Besides, what about you and Ryan?" Ray might have felt all his vital organs try to force a shut down right there in that moment. "You two are a thing, right? Or is all that gossip going around bullshit? Michael said-"

   "I don't know what you're talking about. Now if you'll excuse me I have to find the nearest cliff to launch myself off of." Another faint howl filled the air as Ray started to split off from Gavin. Ray tugged his hood over his head, squinting slightly through the glasses that were slowly collecting fast melting snowflakes. The howl was far louder this time. It was is if it sounded much closer now. "That.... doesn't sound like wind anymore. Does it?" Gavin questioned. Ray struggled to keep his nonchalant demeanor. "I dunno man. It could be anything. We are in the woods." 

   There was a rustling in the brush a few feet away. Gavin's eyes went wide, and Ray could feel his heart beat grow faster and harder. They were in the woods, alone, in the middle of the night. It could be anything. Ray took a few steps back from the brush, feet straying from the path slightly. Suddenly the source of the noise burst through the brush. Gavin stumbled back, flailing as he tripped over a downed branch. He landed on his ass with a frightened squawk. Ray's back hit the rough bark of a tree. He let out a small terrified yelp as well. He put a hand over his heart and worked on bringing himself back down to a calm level. Once he had relaxed he realized what was in front of them.

   The deer locked eyes with him for a moment before tearing off into the night once more. "Oh my god." He muttered. "Gavin get the fuck up, it was just a deer." Gavin shuffled to his feet. "Yeah, but didn't you see it?" Ray's eyes narrowed. "Of course I saw it. It jumped out at us like a bat out of hell." 

  "No! Did you see what it looked like? There was blood all over it! It was prolly running from something!" Shit. Thinking back on the deer, it had been bloody. He couldn't recall seeing any wounds on it though. But that didn't mean that it wasn't hurt. Or near another deer that had been hurt. Did deer travel in packs? That didn't matter now. Another rustle came from where the deer had emerged from. "We should follow it's lead." Ray grabbed the sleeve of Gavin's coat and broke into a run. No matter what had happened to the deer, Ray didn't want to meet what was chasing it down. 

* * *

 

THE LIVING ROOM: LINDSAY, MICHAEL, GEOFF

12:47 AM, 7 hours until dawn

   It took her longer to relocate the Ouija board than she had thought it would. The Jones' game closet was packed with all sorts of board games and puzzles that ranged from simple games like Twister and Operation to more obscure, possible knock-off board games from other countries. In all honesty, she had gotten distracted by the sheer amount of different games and had forgotten on which shelf she had seen the Ouija board.

   Once she had finally recovered the board she did her best to replace everything she had pulled out to examine before returning to the living room. "Hey guys, I found it." She looked around the living room for any signs of the two boys. "Geoff? Michael?" Lindsay placed the game on the table and surveyed the area once again. "Yo? Guys?" She moved into the dining room, noting the slim lines of salt sprinkled on the window sills. So they had spirit proofed the lodge, at least a little. But that didn't explain where they had vanished to.

   She hadn't heard them come upstairs, which meant they still had to be on the first floor somewhere. Of course, the first floor was still huge. The living room was probably the size of someone's whole house. "Michael, come on! Stop playing around! I got the Ouija Board!" It was eerily silent. Her looked around once more. This time she caught a glimmer of light coming from the kitchen. It was to faint to be the actual lighting. Maybe one of them was raiding the fridge? Lindsay brushed her hair behind her ear and strutted towards the kitchen.

   "Hey, there you guys are-" Her voice caught in her throat and her eyes went wide. The faint light wasn't from the fridge, but instead from several candles that had been lit and set up, surrounding the island in the center of the kitchen. The sight displayed on top of the island drew a terrified shriek from her lungs. Laying across the island was Michael Jones. Blood trickled from his mouth and down onto the counter top, pooling with the blood that ran from the prominent stab wound in the middle of his chest. The knife was still protruding from his body. She could only see the hilt, and she could only assume that the blade was burrowed deep inside of him. 

   "Michael! Oh my god!" She could feel tears running down her cheeks yet she was far to shocked to move. Someone had done this to him. A maniac on the loose on the mountain. That had to be it. But that meant that they were still out here somewhere. They could even be in this room. She was beginning to panic. What would she do about this? Sure she could probably fight off a maniac, especially if they were stupid enough to leave the knife in Michael's chest. But then another thought hit her. 

   Where was Geoff? Lindsay felt her skin prickle, as if she was being watched. Her instincts kicked in and she wheeled around, slamming her fist into the gut of her potential attacker. "Jesus!"

   "Geoff!" A sharp laugh rang out behind her and Lindsay turned to face the island once more. Michael was sitting up, wiping the blood from his chin. The knife was still sticking out of a slit in this shirt, and blood was still trickling out of the "wound". Her fear was slowly morphing into irritation. A stupid prank. A stupid prank that had scared the hell out of her. Lindsay was livid.

   She turned on the ball of her foot and yanked the knife out of Michael's chest. A trick blade, of course. Up close the blood had the certain sheen that only stage blood had. To their credit, they had cut a slit into his shirt to insert the knife. "You assholes! Where did you even find this shit?!" Michael jumped down from the island, still chuckling. "We found it in the basement. Don't know why we had it though. I never really took my folks as the kind of people to keep theater shit in storage." 

   "It doesn't matter! You scared the hell out of me!" She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I thought some maniac had hurt you. We're all the way up here all by ourselves! Plus this is a private lodge, if some nut job  _was_ hiding up here, no one would know!" Michael scoffed. "That's bullshit. You think my parents would send me up here by myself if they thought I would die? Give us some credit, Lindsay." Michael moved to the sink and grabbed a wash cloth so he could start wiping away his mess. Geoff approached the island and began blowing out the candles. "No no, Geoff. Let those burn. We can use them for the seance."

   "Stop changing the subject!" 

   "Look, I'm sorry you can't take a joke! Come on, let's set up the Ouija board. You can think up some ways to get us back later." Lindsay continued to pout as she headed back to the living room and set up the Ouija board on the coffee table. She stared at the fire that was still burning brightly in the fireplace. She would get them back somehow. No matter what it took. 

   Geoff entered the living room with a can in each hand. "Beer?" Lindsay questioned. He set one can down in front of her and took a seat on the opposite side of her. "Red Bull. You okay? It was just a shitty prank but you seemed pretty panicked. You nailed my gut pretty hard when I came up behind you." Lindsay chuckled and popped the tab on her Red Bull. "Yeah, I'm still pretty pissed at you two. Better be on your toes, I'm gonna get you back."

  "Surprised Jeremy didn't jump out of the bathtub and run down here." Michael cut in. He took a seat between the two of them with a glass of beer directly from the taps in one hand. "You screamed like a damn banshee." He took a long sip of his beer. The light from the fire flickered across his face, creating a devilish shadow on his freckled face. The wind rattled the windows in their frames. The scene was definitely appropriate. 

   "Let's get this fucking seance started!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol I'll go back through and come up with better chapter names eventually
> 
> Also thank you guys for the attention you've all given this! This is one of my first fics that I've made public, and seeing how popular just the first chapter got in the span of a few days made me want to get this chapter out ASAP! I really hope you guys like it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Michael's group begins their seance at the cabin, Ray and Gavin continue to search for the guest quarters and try to avoid meeting the creature that caused them terror earlier that evening. Meanwhile, Jeremy just wants a bath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAA I CANT WRITE

THE LODGE: MICHAEL, LINDSAY, GEOFF  
1:00 AM, 6 hours until dawn.

 

   "Are there any spirits in this house?" Lindsay whispered. The three of them had carefully placed and relit each of the candles from their little "prank" earlier. Now they sat around the coffee table on cushions with two fingers each on an upside down glass positioned over a Ouija board. You know, normal Friday night shenanigans. Despite her question, the glass remained unmoving underneath their touch. "Try again," Geoff prompted. "They probably didn't hear you." 

    "Are there any spirits in this house?" She said once more. Michael was starting to get bored. He had done this to humor Lindsay, but he thought there was at least the possibility that one of them would try and fuck with the other. Or the even smaller possibility that there would be an actual ghost. "Try rephrasing it." He suggested. "Maybe they're all brain dead _and_ body dead. Some dumb teenage ghosts." He was joking, of course. But the blonde girl took his sarcasm.

    "Is there anybody here in this room with us?" For a moment, it was still. Then, to everyone's surprise, the glass started skimming across the board to land on "YES". Michael's eyes went wide. "That's you guys, right? One of you is moving this?!" The other two shook their heads slowly. Lindsay looked around once, twice, and then asked another question. "Who are you? What's your name?" They were on edge as they waited for the glass to move again. For a while, it didn't.

   Maybe the first time had been a hoax. One of them wanting to believe so badly that they moved it and their subconscious had just made them think it wasn't them. But sure enough, the glass began to move again.

M

A

T

T

   "Matt. You're name is Matt?" The glass shot to "YES" once more. Okay. They knew someone named Matt. Maybe a few someone's named Matt. This just solidified the fact that it was one of them for Michael. "Alright, next question. I'll ask." He pursed his lip and pondered his next move. He had to ask something personal, deep. Something that would prove to himself that it wasn't one of them doing this. "Okay, Matt. When did you die?" This time, the reaction was nearly immediate.

1

9

8

7

   Geoff raised his eyebrows. "Huh. Guess that Matt likes you more than he likes Lindsay."

   "Out of all the troubled spirits that are probably trapped here we got the gay one."

    Michael shushed them. To easy, it was a year that anyone could have chosen randomly. "Next question. How did you die?" The glass was still for a while, and if you listened closely one could hear the wind picking up outside as the snow fell. There was a sudden bang from outside, and almost as suddenly as the noise the glass began to move across the board once more. Lindsay mouthed the letters along with the rapid movements. Her eyes went wide with fear as she processed what she had read. "Eaten."

   "Okay, that's enough! One of you is messing with us!" Michael hollered. He began to remove his hands from the glass. "Don't move your hands, you'll release him!" Geoff warned. I'm not gonna get my ass killed by some damn ghost because of you." The redhead slowly relaxed. "Okay. Then we release him! Come on, Lindsay, how do we do it?"

   "I don't know! I didn't think we'd actually get a ghost!" The glass trembled and began zooming across the board once more.

T

I

N

A

   "Tina? What does that mean? Did she die with you?" The glass shot to "YES". It was clear that they all wanted to stop, but they had no clue how. "Oh my god. Wh-What ate you guys?' The glass retraced the previous letters over and over. TINA TINA TINA. "Stop it! Dammit, how do we stop this?! We, we could start with blowing out the candles, right?" Michael leaned over and blew out the row of candles near him. Lindsay and Geoff did the same. Now the only light in the room was the slowly dying fire in the hearth. The three of them tore their fingers from the glass, but it continued to move across the board before flinging itself across the room. It shattered immediately. The three of them sat in stunned and startled silence. "That was.... that was intense."

    "It....it spelled something different that time." Geoff muttered. He picked his beer up from the floor and took a long swig. "Talk about ominous."

* * *

 THE WOODS: RAY AND GAVIN  
  1:14 AM.

   They had been running for who knows how long now. There faces were an angry red from the cold beating against them and their breath was short. "Well that sure was something." Ray muttered. The snow was a bit thicker now, but still falling slowly. Through the slight haze they could only just make out the shape of... Oh shit! It was the guest cabin! It had to be! Ray wiped the sweat off of his face and strutted forward. Gavin let out a little surprised "Gavin Noise™" and shuffled after him. "Check your phone, maybe the signal is back." 

   Gavin's face lit up with the glow from his screen. Ray could see the hawkish features morph into a terrified one. "Well that's not good.... that's not good at all." He turned his phone to show Ray the long list of notifications. There were maybe 4 missed calls from Meg, and at least 15 texts. A few of them were from his mother, one from Michael asking for his location, but most of them were from Meg. 

_hey_

_hey_

_hey where r u guys?_

_did u find the cabin?_

_Gav im gettin worried about u guys are you okay_

   He scrolled through the texts one by one, finding that most of them were very similar. "Dude, how far away do you think they are?" The brown boy's mind was starting to race. Some of these had been sent nearly an hour ago, the most recent stopping around 12:30. Gavin snatched his phone back and began frantically typing back his response. "Let's at least go into the cabin while we wait. We don't need to die of frostbite or something stupid like that." The Brit nodded slowly. His eyes were still glued to his screen as Ray pushed open the squeaky door and shuffled inside. 

   "Wow. It's actually still cold as hell in here. Stay here, I'll go find the thermostat or something." Ray pulled his hood snuggly over his ears and disappeared into the cabin. Gavin sat down on the worn brown leather couch with his eyes still fixed on the screen. The little dots had popped up on the screen now, but he hadn't received a text in a while. Meg was usually a fast texter and this was beginning to concern him. What if she and Ryan had run into the same thing that had scared them in the woods earlier? Sure maybe it was just a wolf, but c'mon would you want a wolf after your friend and your girlfriend? 

   There was a faint scuffling sound from outside. Gavin perked up a bit, but went right back to texting Turney. Still no reply. He was getting more and more concerned by the minute. He was trying his hardest not to panic but the darkness and the cold outside seemed to be seeping into the cabin. Okay, perhaps she was still at a part of the mountain where the signal was weak. His texts might not even get through to her until she reached the other side. Maybe he could convince Ray to go back out to go and find the other pair. 

   There was another rustle from outside. Gavin stood up slowly, setting his phone on the couch. He crept towards the window, curious now as to what was moving around in the darkness. He peered out the window, squinting through the slightly frosted glass. It was hard to see, but he could just barely make out a strange figure. It was lithe, and moved quickly on it's long long legs. It turned towards the cabin, and it's eyes seemed to glow a ghastly white. He wiped a circle into the glass to get a clearer view of the creature. It's gaze had met his. It was creeping closer, and closer, until suddenly-

   The lights flashed on all at once. "IT'S LIT!" Ray yelled from the laundry room. It certainly was lit. Gavin glanced over his shoulder to yell his appreciation to his friend before turning back. When he looked outside again, the creature was gone. "Gav, come on! Michael's folks packed this place with all kinds of good shit!" Ray hollered from where Gavin presumed the kitchen was. "Alright, I'll be there in a sec!"

* * *

 

 JEREMY: BATHROOM.

   The bath was nice and warm. Soothing. The hot water was relaxing his tense muscles that he had accumulated from football and gymnastics. He reached out of the tub and tapped the play button on his phone, starting his playlist. The music filled the bathroom, adding to the vibe. Nice.

   Until he heard the screaming from downstairs. He loved his friends, he really did. They were great people who were really fun to be around and hang out with, he couldn't wish for better pals. But  _oh my **god**_ , he just wanted to relax. He couldn't fathom what they could possibly be screaming about this late. There was no tv, and the wifi was not that great so they couldn't be watching a scary movie. Maybe they had a system hooked up somehow and were playing a horror game? 

   Who knew. He let his eyes shut despite the noise. A senior in high school, he knew how to tune out nuisances. But soon he heard footsteps. Great. Now was not the time for this. "Geoff, Michael, come on guys. I'm not in the mood for this right now. Wait until I at least have my pants on...." 

   He slowly opened one eye to peek at whoever had come in to the bathroom, most likely to prank him. But he didn't see one of his friends. The sight before him made his eyes shoot open and his body lurch up into a more alert position. The figure before him was pale, thin. It's eyes were a ghastly white. But it was human. Keyword:  _was._  

   A teenager in a puffy, 80's styled skiing jacket. He wore a thick cap and gloves, neck wrapped loosely with a scarf. Under the worn material, he could see jagged bite marks, but not that big. Upon closer inspection one could see a spattering of blood across his neck and clothing. "H-Holy shit. Holy shit." Jeremy wanted to look away, to blink. But he was scared that if he did, the figure would vanish and he would never be sure. "Who- What are you?" 

   The figure opened its mouth. His teeth were gory, like he had bitten into his own neck to cause the horror in front of him. Maybe he had. The figure began to mouth words at a speed that Jeremy could barely make out. 

T

H

E

M

I

N

E

S

   "The... The mines?! What about them?! Jeremy grabbed the towel from beside the bath, his music still playing. "Hold own, don't leave." He quickly got out of the bath and wrapped the towel around his waist. When he looked up again, it was gone. Nothing stood in front of him. No gore covered spirit, no ominous messages. "The mines... there are mines here?!"

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan continues to search for Meg. Meg explores a new and mysterious part of the mountain. Through all of it, both feel as if they are being watched. Followed. Hunted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruh okay so this chapter is mostly going to focus on Ryan and Meg. If you have any comments on their portrayal and how to improve it hmu dude

RYAN: THE WOODS

12:43 AM

 

   Ryan was frantic. The sudden hole that had engulfed Meg seemed far too deep and dangerous for him to follow her down, and after nearly 20 minutes of searching, he wasn’t having any luck finding another entrance. All he could do was hope that she had miraculously survived the fall with minor, non-threatening injuries. And, of course, he could hope to find another damn entrance to wherever she had fallen? Hell? The Void? Wonderland?

   Ryan wracked his brain for any information Michael or his parents might have told him about the mountain and it’s history. They had bought it about 20 years ago, it was originally Native American land (well, I mean technically everything was “originally Native American land” at one point), and the lodge had already been located here. They had spruced it up a bit and instead of opening it to the public they kept it for a personal vacation spot. Nothing about secret tunnels under the surface. Nothing to help him find Meg.

   Panic began to set in once more. He wondered momentarily if he could get a cell signal somehow and call for help. But another part of him told him that even if he could it might be too late for Turney. He had to find her and get her to safety now. Even if he had to do it alone.

   Eventually his search brought him to yet another steep drop off that would lead him further down the otherside of the mountain. He had a few choices here; He could either turn back now and head for the main lodge, or keep trying to find a way into wherever. The choice was obvious. Now he just had to decide how to get down the slope without hurting himself.

   One careful step after the other, with gloved fingers digging harshly into the Earth. The ground was starting to freeze, making his task harder. One misplaced hand, one wrong step, and he was majorly fucked. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he ever so slowly moved his right foot to the next position. His shoes betrayed him. Instead of settling nicely into the next foothold, the soles of his Vans slid across the slick surface. His hands scrambled uselessly for traction, but failed.

   Majorly fucked. He slid down the slope swiftly. His shoulder slammed into a downed tree branch, slowing his descent slightly. When he finally reached the bottom, he crumpled pathetically. He hissed in pain as he clutched his shoulder, his determination to continue on only faltering minutely. He staggered to his feet, swaying a bit. “Hope my phone didn’t crack…” He whispered as he fished the device from his pocket. Thankfully it still powered on. It had survived the fall with only a few minor cracks. Another bright side, the signal had returned. It was faint, but it had returned.

   There were a few new messages from Ray.

_hey when u goin up to the lodge_

_rye bread u there_

_i have twinkies_

   Maybe he should call them. Let them know what had happened. But he didn’t want them to panic. More panic would just make this harder. He had to do this himself. Maybe he could try and call Meg? No, her phone had fallen much farther, he doubted it still worked.

   But that brought forth another plan. Ryan checked, happy to find he still had data. “Okay Google,” he muttered “Don’t let me down.” Within seconds, he had countless articles and pages about the mountain and it’s history. If he was super lucky, there would be a map. He started on his journey once again, eyes flicking between the path in front of him and his phone.

   There was a few different maps, on their own they seemed completely useless. One showed the entire mountain, but only the mountain. Another detailed all of the trail markers, but none of the lodges or cabins. The final map looked ancient, like it was made back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and Prohibition was still being enforced. It lacked trail markers, but showed something completely different and much more helpful.

   The words “MINE ENTRANCE” were written in bold, heavy letters with a large ‘X’ marking the spot. This was perfect! Who knew that Campbell Mountain had a mine underneath it? He zoomed in on the picture, studying the details of the map. His smile fell into a frown.

   The entrance was on the other side of the mountain.

* * *

MEG: THE MINES

   It had been a long fall. Incredibly long. Impossibly long. Meg Turney felt like she had fallen right out of reality and straight into Wonderland. Except this “Wonderland” was dark, cold, and kind of smelled wet. The aching sensation in her everywhere made it hard to even push herself up to get a better look at her surroundings. Honestly, she was surprised she was still awake to feel this pain. That she was still alive.

   Judging from the awful burning in her left arm, it hadn’t survived the fall as well as she had. Tentatively she reached her right arm over and pressed on it. Oh hell. Definitely broken. Using her good arm, she ignored the soreness and pushed herself into a sitting position. There was a puddle of blood from the large gash on her forehead, accompanied by minor cuts and tears along her arms and legs.

   Meg sat completely still for a while, letting as much of the pain fade as possible before using her good arm to pick at the torn fabric of her pants. She tore a large strip off and crafted a makeshift sling. It would have to do for now, since all of her medical training had to do with minor things like slapping a bandage on something or running a burn under cold water. "Okay, now to find out where the hell I am." She looked around at her surroundings. Her phone lay a few paces from where she had previously been, the screen shattered. 

   "Great." She let out a deep sigh and stooped down to scoop up her device. It was far past the saving point, so she just dropped it and moved onwards. It sent little jolts of pain through her right ankle when she walked, giving her a slight limp. There was barely any light down here. The only source came from patchy holes in the high ceiling. The whole area smelled strangely like an explosion waiting to happen. Hopefully she could find the source and make a torch or something. Anything to make this dark hell easier to navigate. 

      Meg limped along the dark caverns, spying the occasional lamp strung along the wall. The first few she tried had been burnt out a long time ago, probably back when these tunnels were built. Whenever that was. Her good hand skimmed across the rough walls, reaching up to test each lantern as she passed. "Broken, empty, empty..."  _Click._ "Oh!" 

   The smell was putrid, like old oil mixed with burned pepper. But a puny flame ignited, feeding off the remaining oil in the lamp. She didn't know how much was left, how long it would burn. She snatched it off the wall and went on her not-so-merry way. She limped through the winding tunnels, her booted foot knocking against stray pebbles as she went. She began to notice long, raggedy scratches that ran along each wall, as if someone had dragged something sharp and heavy across the surface as they followed this exact path. 

   Something shuffled behind her. Meg stiffened. Suddenly she felt as if something was watching her, boring eyes into her exposed back. Instincts were at war, half of her wanting to run and hide, but the other half freezing up instantly. "Ryan?" She whispered? She tried to turn her head as slowly as possible, hoping that her best dad friend had followed her down here and somehow made the same miraculous recover she had managed. 

   A pair of eyes made themselves apparent in the darkness, glowing a horrid color she couldn't place. Meg felt her blood run cold. Nails clicked against the ground as it stalked closer. She was to afraid to fully turn and face the monster head on. Plus, she knew that in her current state, running wasn't the best idea. But the thing seemed to be coming closer regardless. On a whim, she pulled her arm back and chucked her lantern down the cavern and quickly pressed herself against the was as the darkness swiftly engulfed her once again.

   Her breath caught in her throat as she held herself as still as possible. The creature let out a horrible screech, nails scratching against the floor as it chased her abandoned lantern. She could almost make out it's gruesome body as it scuttled past her. She fought the urge to bring a hand to her mouth to muffle her breath. She stayed pressed against the wall long after the noises disappeared down into the tunnels. Then, slowly and carefully, she peeled herself away and ran in the opposite direction. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its.... shorter than usual? I really just wanted to give u guys an update on Meg and Ryan. More actual plot to come eventually. 
> 
> I have a lot of family and personal issues going on. I'll work on a new chapter but the upload date is still to be determined.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens. What kind of crazy shenanigans will our heroes find themselves in this week? Will Ryan find Meg? Will Meg find out what was with her in the mines? Will Jeremy end up putting on some real pants? 
> 
> (WARNING: THIS CHAPTER WILL CONTAIN ANIMAL DEATH AND SLIGHTLY GRAPHIC GORE.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can say that I tried but we all know that's not the truth  
> EDIT: tfw you forget you already named the mountain and now you have change it.

MICHAEL, LINDSAY, AND GEOFF: THE LODGE

1:43 AM

   They refused to look at each other. Michael was still convinced that it was Lindsay playing a prank on them. Lindsay was terrified out of her wits. Geoff was downing another beer and pretending that none of it had ever happened. The lodge had been eerily quiet ever since they had packed up the Ouija board. Even Jeremy had turned off his music upstairs. It was a quiet, awkward hell. And honestly, Geoff was kind of tired of it. "So," He started casually, "We just gonna sulk here for the rest of the night? It's cool with me, but honestly I don't wanna be fucking hungover tomorrow morning on the slopes." 

   The other two shot each other weary looks, then glanced at Geoff. "Look I know you're both kinda pissed off at each other because of what happened earlier. But you're both almost adults, too. Build a bridge, get over it. Suck a dick or something, I dunno." He nonchalantly took a sip of his beer. The two teens seemed to let the thought run through their heads. Geoff could almost see the advanced calculations appearing in front of them as they processed. "Fine. I'm over it." Michael grumbled. "But I'm holding a petty grudge and you can't stop me." The blonde girl shrugged as well. "Yeah, me too." She struggled to keep a cold expressionless facade and immediately dissolved into giggles. Michael followed her lead. To an outsider they all probably seemed wasted.

   Hell, maybe they were.

   "We should try another board game." Lindsay proposed. "One that won't end in demonic possession."

   "Shit, then I guess Monopoly is off the table." 

   The trio tossed out the names of all the board games they knew, each one getting shut down for various and often seemingly random reasons. Too hard, too easy, this one time I got one of those pieces stuck right here. "Hey, I've got it!" Michael proclaimed. "There's all kinds of cool shit in the basement! Geoff and me can go down there and probably find something cool. We found all that theatre stuff earlier, it's like a treasure trove of junk!" Lindsay and Geoff paused. "Y'know, it's not a terrible idea. Sure, why the hell not."

  "Wait, what am I supposed to do while you guys are downstairs?" Michael made a noncommittal noise. "Make a snack? Drink something other than Red Bull?"

   "Dye your hair again!" Lindsay's lips pulled into a pout. "How do I know that you guys aren't trying to prank me again?"  Michael let out an exasperated sigh. "You're still mad about that?! Come on, you got me back with the Ouija board! I promise we aren't gonna prank you again, Linds! Here," He stuck out his left hand and placed his right over his heart. "I, Michael Jones, solemnly swear not to pull another dumb prank on you, Lindsay Tuggey. Now shake." The blonde stared at the hand for a few seconds. She trusted Michael, but at the same time she didn't. She would have to be crazy to believe he wouldn't try some new shenanigans. But, against her better judgement, she shook his hand. "Fine. I'll trust you." Suddenly she pulled him closer, her tone darkening. "But if you cross me, Jones, there will be hell to pay."

   "Noted." She smirked, releasing his hand. "Alright. Maybe I'll check on Jeremy, see if he wants to do anything." Michael nodded. With that, the two boys disappeared into the basement.

* * *

 RYAN: THE WOODS

   It had taken longer than anticipated to relocate the original path. Now, nearly an hour later, he was almost certain that he was closer to finding it than before. Not lost. Just... taking his time. "Ryan the taking his time Guy." He muttered to himself. It sounded loads better than "Ryan the lost in the woods with no hope of finding his way back or saving his best friend Guy", that was for sure. Speaking of Meg....

   He let out a hopeless sigh. While trying to find the path he had read up on the kinds of things one would find in old abandoned mines. And honestly, if that's where Meg had ended up, none of it sounded to hopeful. Left over toxic fumes, sharp rusty mining equipment, dynamite that had been left behind when the miners evacuated. There was no telling. And without specific knowledge as to why the original mines were abandoned, there was no telling what she would be encountering down there. All alone. Probably hurt and scared. Now, don't get me wrong, Meg was tough as nails. But she was still human. 

   It was driving Ryan up the wall to think about it. That and the snow was starting to come down much heavier than earlier. He hoped that the snow wouldn't cover the hole again. As much as he wanted to find Meg, he didn't want to follow her down into that abyss. He didn't want any broken limbs when he found her, just in case she need assistance of any kind. Plus, finding the hole could help him relocate the path. Probably. They hadn't strayed that far from it, had they? 

    A shiver ran up his spine. Nerves, he told himself. He could barely feel the chill through his thick track jacket, and that was the only conclusion he could think of. Unless someone was watching him. Wait.  _Was_ someone watching him? His mind shifted to the smug little red head back at the lodge. The one who probably knew all kinds of secrets about the mountain. The one who sent them out here in the first place. The one who had a penchant for filming all of his stupid pranks and shenanigans. 

    Ryan whipped his head back and forth, inspecting the area for any sign of a camera. "Michael!" He hollered. "If this is some stupid prank, it's not funny! This isn't some game!" He could feel the anger setting in. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" His angry shout echoed back at him, accompanied by the wind. For a moment, there was no response. Then, there was a rustle. A snap of a twig. He could feel the telltale anxiety that came with the feeling of being watched. "Gotcha." He followed the source of the noise, footsteps creating prints in the fresh blanket of powder. "Michael Jones, you better say your prays because I am pissed o-"

   He wasn't prepared for the sight in front of him. Instead of Michael, trying to contain his laughter while pretending to be innocent, it was much worse. The deer let out an awful, pained moan. It had long, bloody slashes across it's neck, crimson pooling under its head and splattered across its fur. He wanted to vomit. He did, actually, turning his head to the side to avoid making the poor creature's night any worse. God, when did he have corn? Why was there corn? 

   The poor thing was letting out pained noises and twitching horribly. Ryan had to do something. He had to put it out of it's misery. But he didn't know how.... Wait. Yes he did. "Okay, buddy. I'm so sorry about this." Ryan the animal Guy. He loved animals. Animals loved him. That just made this so much harder for him. Cautiously, he placed his hands on it's neck. He had to snap it, so he tried to move as quickly as possible. It didn't exactly go as he had planned. There was the snap of bone, but it was accompanied by the tear of flesh and the severing of muscles. Before he knew it he was holding a severed deer head in his now bloody hands. A choked scream wormed its way out of his throat. 

   There was another shiver down his spine. Something was still watching him. Maybe it was the same thing that did this? He was pretty much convinced now that it wasn't Michael's doing. Not even he was this devious. Slowly he laid the head down next to it's body, a bit too shocked to do much else. When he glanced up he could see a pair of eyes not too far off. He froze, feeling his blood run cold in his veins. The eyes seemed to be fixed on him, not quite tracking but not letting him escape its gaze either. 

   The way he saw it, he had two options here. Stand still and wait to see if the thing would leave or come out of the shadows, or run and risk being chased by something stronger and faster than he was. Neither of them seemed to have good outcomes. But if they were his only two options, he decided the latter was better. He slowly straightened his back, carefully watching for any sort of reaction. The eyes didn't move. Perfect. His heart beat like a jackhammer against his rib cage. 3...2... Before he could back out of his choice he broke into a sprint. The snow crunched beneath his boots, masking the sound of whatever it was chasing after him. He just had to hope it wasn't.

* * *

 

JEREMY: THE LODGE

2:00 AM. 6 hours until dawn.

    He had been draining the water from the tub when he heard it. A scream from downstairs followed by the shattering of glass. His brain switched into panic mode. Without thinking he jumped to his feet and grabbed his phone. If someone was truly hurt, they might need to call emergency services. Lord knows if or when they could make it out there, but it was still worth a shot.

   He rocketed down the stairs as swiftly yet carefully as he could. "Lindsay?! Lindsay?!" It had been her scream, he was sure of it. He paused in the living room, taking in the dying fire and the coffee table surrounded by unlit candles. That sight somehow made everything so much more confusing for him. What the hell did they need all those candles for? The fire was already lit? The lights probably worked too? Why the candles? No, now was not the time for this. He had to find Lindsay.

   He tried the kitchen next. As luck would have it, she was there. The blonde was lying on her back on the floor, shattered pieces of what might have been a plate arranged around her like a crown. Shards had hit her in the face and burrowed themselves into her skin. She was bleeding, but not much. "Lindsay." He muttered. Jeremy reached down and gently shook her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open. 'Lindsay, are you okay?" 

   "Y-yeah, I'm okay." Her voice sounded thick and disoriented, like she might have hit her head a bit too hard. He placed a hand behind her head and helped her into a sitting position. "Hey, look at me. You gotta tell me what happened to you." She blinked once. Twice. "I was trying to make some nachos.... But the chips were super high up? And I think somethin outside might've spooked me and I lost my balance." Jeremy nodded. His hand slowly moved up to her forehead and began wiping away the blood that was starting to collect and dry there. 

   "Let's get you to a bed or a couch or something." 

   "Mr. Dooley, are you trying to seduce me?" Okay, so she could still make jokes. That probably meant she wasn't concussed. Probably. Could concussed people make jokes? He pulled her to her feet and did his best to steady her. "Jeremy, is there a reason you ran down here with nothing but a towel on?" Oh fuck. Of course, he had run down here so fast, he had neglected to put on at least a clean pair of boxers. "It's cool. Don't stress about it. Just focus on getting yourself unconcussed."

   "That's not a real word." He hauled her into the living room and shoved her onto the couch. "Sit. Stay. I'm gonna go grab the first aid kit from upstairs." Lindsay nodded sluggishly in agreement and Jeremy headed back up to the bathroom. On the way up the stairs he pulled his phone up and dialed 911. After a few rings an operator picked up. "What's your emergency?"

   "My, uh, my friend fell and hit her head. She dropped a couple plates on herself and she has pieces in her head? Uh..."

"Alright, sir. Stay calm, and please tell us your location? We'll try and get a team of paramedics out there as soon as we can."

"Um... I'm at the Jones' private ski lodge on Campbell Mountain." There was a pause in the conversation followed by the sound of rapid tapping on a keyboard. "Alright sir, do not panic. The earliest we can get a team out is around 7 or 8 am tomorrow morning. If you can, you'll just have to wait until dawn." Jeremy let out a sigh. This was starting to seem more and more like a bad horror movie. First the ghost in the bathroom now this. "O-okay, yeah. Yeah we can try to hold on for that long. Thank you." 

  He waited for the operator to disconnect before continuing up the stairs to retrieve the first aid kit. He knew basic care, enough to remove the shards and stop the bleeding. But if the damage was internal there was nothing he could do but keep her still until dawn came in a few hours. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paramedics are on their way to Campbell Mountain, but the team won't be able to make it until the wee hours of the morning. The teens just hope they can wait that long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no idea. thank u all for loving this???? i really appreciate it! AND if u like my writing pls check out both of my RWBY fics! One is an OC fic and the other is a two chapter Bumbleby that has a bit of angst at the end! 
> 
> ps i totally added a local inside joke into the story bc i can and if u know what it is then kudos

RAY AND GAVIN: THE WOODS  
2 ish AM. 

The duo resigned in the cabin for a short while. It was warm, and there was plenty of food to eat. There was even good wifi to exploit. 

And then they got bored. Ray was lounging upside down on the couch, watching vine after vine while Gavin worriedly switched between his social media apps to his messaging app to check for any signs of Meg. The two of them had practically blown through all of the snack foods within the first ten minutes of being there. Plus, Ray had left his DS and charger back in the main lodge. All in all, it had gotten pretty damn boring. 

"This blows harder than I do at a frat party."

"Ray, this is why people think you and Ryan are dating." The Puerto Rican flexed his knee and bonked it against his friend's noggin. "I'm serious." Gavin yelped out a butthurt "So am I!" but Ray ignored him. "I wanna go back to the lodge. Or, like, find the other two. Maybe then you'll stop being a nervous wreck over your girlfriend." Gavin seemed apprehensive. His mind was suddenly flooded with the image of the creature that had been lurking outside earlier that night. There was a chance that is had left by now, but it was also just as likely that it stuck around. Part of him didn't want to be in the same woods as something as creepy as that, but another part of him wanted to find Meg and get her out of those woods as well. "Alright, then let's get going!"

"Yknow what we should do on the way there?" The Brit quirked his head with wonder. "TEAM LADS ACTION NEWS TEEEEEEAM!!!!" Ray's phone was already out and recording as he flopped off of the couch and somersaulted back onto his feet. Both teens screamed their excitement as they gathered their coats and ran outside into the cold air. "It's dark as hell!" Ray cheered excitedly. Their feet crunched in the snow as they scrambled into the dark woods. He squinted through his glasses, which were slowly being engulfed in fog. "But! THERE'S NEWS OUT THERE! FUCKIN CRAZY!"

The pair made quite a bit of noise as they stormed through the forest yelling about all the "news" they spotted. "Local deer sucks another deer's deer dick!"

"The snow is coming down super hard!"

"No new developments in video games out here!" At one point, the news team was blocked by a pile of rocks that had slid down from a tall ledge and blocked the path and the anchormen-in-training. "Breaking news: A bunch of fuckin rocks blocks me from the real scoop!" He had a few options here. "Okay Gav, we can either let the rocks win and go around OR."

"Or?" said Gavin, nudging a few rocks with the two of his sneaker. "Or we top the hell out of these rocks and climb over them. Let's go Team Lads Action News!" Throwing safety to the wind Ray began to scale the rockslide. Gavin followed shortly after, much more cautious than his partner. Smaller rocks shifted and tumbled when disturbed by the footfalls of the Lads. Nearly at the top now, Ray paused. There was a little ledge, perfect for him to put his hand on to pull himself over the cliff, but it looked unsteady. "What are you waiting for? The news isn't gonna wait!" Ray bit his lip. He did have a point. The news wasn't going to wait for him. Against his better judgement he placed his hand on the ledge.

As predicted, it crumbled instantly, sending him scrambling down the slide a bit. "Fuck!" He heard Gavin yelp as his foot struck something, most likely his friend's head. "Watch it!"

"You're the one who told me to hurry up!" He let out a frustrated huff and continued up the rock slide, making sure to jostle each loose rock in his path to throw into Gavin's face. Once they reached the top they found that the path evened out into a new, unexplored part of the trail. "We _might_ have lost the designated trail..." Gavin muttered. "Guess that means THE NEWS IS GOING OFF ROOOAAAD!!" Ray jostled his phone excitedly and Gavin let out an equally excited whoop. "Dude I think I cracked my phone when we were climbing." Despite the obstacles the team kept moving, Ray's now slightly damaged phone whipping to record every creak and crack of the tree limbs that surrounded them. "Not seeing any news, must've gotten spooked and ran off." 

Mr. Free grumbled. "Maybe Ryan and Meg know where the news is?" He muttered. Maybe if he reminded Ray why they had come out here in the first place they could complete their objective and find something interesting to utterly fuck up on the way to it. The brown man perked up. "Oh yeah. Fuck, you're probably right. Team Lads Action News Team, off to find Meg and Ryan!"

The walk became more urgent, continuing at a pace that was slightly faster than their previous jaunt. They had been walking along this new path for a solid 15 minutes when a chill ran up Ray's spine. He stopped dead in his tracks, causing Gavin to bump into him. "Hey-"

"Sh. Do you feel that?" He turned his head side to side as if he was searching for something. "Feel what?"

"Like someone is following us." By this time, he had previously paused his recording due to lack of fresh news. But now seemed like the perfect time to start it up again. He tapped the record button and quietly and slowly spun in a circle, surveying their surroundings. In a hushed voice he reported his feelings of being stalked through the dark woods in the early hours of the morning. Gavin stood frozen, listening for signs of life in the vicinity. His mind once again turned to the creature near the guest cabin. Had it never left? Had it followed them all the way out here? If so, what had taken it so long to catch up or make itself known? A wild animal would have attacked them at the first sign of  weakness, and let's be real here the two had shown plenty of weakness in their journey. "Ray...."

His friend shooshed him once more. He could feel nervousness settling into the pit of his stomach like a stone. Ray was cursing quietly under his breath, which was becoming labored and heavy. Gavin couldn't take it anymore. "Hello?! Who's out here?!" Ray dropped his calm demeanor like a hot potato and started yelling at him to shut up and was he a fucking moron or did his mother just feed him cigarette butts directly from her ass when he was a baby. Gavin begin yelling his defenses back at an equally loud volume. 

Suddenly something snapped. A large branch that had been downed by a recent storm cracked in half, filling the air with it's sharp split. They paused mid yell, both freezing nearly immediately. "What was that?" Gavin turned towards the noise, much to Ray's disdain. A pair of eyes accompanied by a rough gargling snarl came from the treeline, drawing closer with each breath. Ray began cursing under his breath once more. His camera was trained on the creature. "Is that a wolf? Or a bobcat? Or maybe a bear? A bearcat?! No, what the hell is a bearcat....?" Gavin's ramblings only seemed to spur the monster forward, revealing long bloody claws attached to a long, ghastly grey, bone thin arm with skin that stretched tightly across it's frame. It's bones jutted out against it's skin like spikes under the surface. It's horrible mouth was filled with jagged teeth smeared with gore and guts. They could only hope it wasn't one of their friends. 

"Oh my God, Ray, we gotta go. We gotta get away, please Ray let's go let's get out of here Ray." Gavin's words were flying at a million miles per second. Ray couldn't tear his eyes from his screen. He had it on tape. The ugly creature right there on his phone. This was like some shit out of Lost Tapes or Cryptid Found or those dumb shows that Animal Planet showed late at night when all the good programming had ended. "RAY WE HAVE TO RUN!" Suddenly the creature lunged forward, hissing horribly and gaping jaw stretched open. Ray felt hands on his shoulders and in an instant he was on the snowy ground. He stopped filming and stuffed his phone into his jean pocket as he scrambled to regain his footing. "What the fuck?!" He finally found his voice. Gavin was clinging to the hem of his hoodie, screaming loudly about getting the hell out of there. For once, Ray agreed.

He pulled his friend's hands from his hoodie and laced their fingers together. With a muttered and entirely unnecessary "no homo" he took off through the snow covered woods. He could hear the thing snarling with anger behind them, and the crunch of snow beneath its disgusting feet as it tore after them. Their sneakers slid as they dashed, flurries of snow coating Ray's glasses. He didn't need to see to run. Probably. Wait if he couldn't see, then how would he knew what was ahead? He slowed a bit to wipe his glasses, but Gavin continued to keep their previous pace and tugged him behind him. "There's no time for that now! I'll be your eyes just keep going!" Ray stumbled behind, feet catching on obstacles that he couldn't see. He felt like a useless ragdoll being yanked to safety by a child playing some silly game. But this wasn't a game; their lives were on the line and he was a blind ass bitch who was gonna get them killed. "Gavin! Gavin stop already! Gav-" His words died in his throat as a sharp pain manifested in his upper right thigh. He stumbled, falling to his knees. The pain was harsh and stinging, and he doubted he could pull himself up again, but Gavin continued to pull. The Brit managed to drag him off their original path and into the dense brush, trailing blood behind him. 

"Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. Oh my God-" The Puerto Rican teen pressed his hands to the gash in his leg, feeling the warmth of his own blood seeping onto his cold hands. He wanted to cry. To vomit. To believe that this was all some fucked up dream. Gavin knelt beside him and also pressed his hands to the wound. They tried to remain still and silent despite the immense pain. There was a shuffling and screeches as the thing caught up to were they had been. It could smell the blood, surely it could. "Stay here." Gavin mumbled. Ray wanted to protest, but he couldn't even move. How could he tell his friend to stay there and die with him? Gavin slowly got to his feet and crept away. He was going to go get help for Ray. He knew the way to the lodge, and the guest cabin as well. But before he could get too far he heard it.

"Baby? Gavin?" A female's voice. Not just any female voice. 

**_Meg's voice._ **

"Gavin, help me!" His heart skipped. He had found her! But she was stuck out here with the creature. "Meg?! MEG I'M COMING!" He rushed back in the direction of her voice. He barely heard Ray's questioning yells as he passed him once more. All he could think of was getting Meg out of danger, out of these woods, off this blasted mountain. "Turney?!" He heard the monster let out another screech and he ran even faster. The thing has barely grazed Ray and it had shredded his leg, he didn't want to know what it could do with a full force hit. He ran blindly, calling out his love's name as frantically as his footsteps. Tree limbs smacked his arms and face but he didn't care. Before he could process it, his feet reached the end of the path and his toes teetered precariously over the edge. His arms pinwheeled for balance and his ears sharpened.  _Come on Meg, call for me again. Let me know where you are!_

"Gavin!" The voice came from behind him this time. He turned his head, happy to meet her loving gaze. Only it wasn't her. The monster stood in front of him, mouth gaping and ready to bite down on his flesh. It pulled back its bony arm and slashed him across the chest. The blow alone was enough to knock his balance away, and the shock of betrayal, of being tricked, of being cut kept him from regaining it. With blood welling in the three deep claw marks across his chest, Gavin Free tumbled into the dark abyss below. 

* * *

MICHAEL AND GEOFF: THE BASEMENT

"This blows harder than Ray at a frat party."

"Hey it was your idea to come down here." Geoff took a long sip of his beer and continued to dig through the box of wigs they had happened upon in their adventures. Michael had already tried on several different wigs, now wearing a short blonde bob with straight cut bangs. The formerly mentioned boy was also sizing up a nurse costume that looked more like a bedroom outfit than a Halloween one. "I could pull this off." he had muttered to himself as he gently fingered the cheap faux satin material. Geoff didn't exactly disagree. "C'mon, we've been down here for like, forever, and we haven't found anything interesting to do."

Michael stripped down to his boxers and began squeezing into the nurse outfit, which surprisingly fit him really well. Like, crazy well. Like he had gone and had a sexy nurse outfit specifically made for him. "You gonna eat those words yet, Ramsey? I changed my mind, this is fun now." Michael picked up Geoff's beer and took a long swig from it. "Let's go deeper. That's where all the good shit is." 

Before the older boy could protest Michael had taken off, the tight skirt of the nurse outfit clinging obscenely to his ass as he ran. As the young lad fled, Geoff felt the unshakable twinge in his gut that somewhere out there, the other Lads were probably acting just as stupidly. "WHOA!" Geoff sighed. At least he only had this lad to deal with for now. He moved after Michael sluggishly, already regretting his decision to let Michael drag him down here. He pressed is lips into a tight line, a neutral expression for the older teen these days. Maybe he should have taken up Griffon's offer to stay with her over break. "Geoff, hurry the hell up! You gotta check this out!"

Michael had wedged himself between two impossibly tall towers of boxes and cases and was staring intently at something just on the other side. "What is it Lassie? Is Timmy stuck in the well again?"

"Haha, fuck you. There's a passage back here, and it's freezing! I think it leads outside!" Before Geoff could stop him Michael had squeezed himself the rest of the way into the passage and judging by the rapid footfalls he was racing down it into the unknown. "Holy shit you're going to give me a heart attack before I turn 20." Geoff took one last long swig of beer and followed the over zealous boy down the passage. His former statement was correct, it was freezing. The temperature was noticeably colder than the rest of the basement. He could see the redhead disappear around a sharp corner. "Michael, Jesus Christ, wait up!" The farther they went, the colder it became. A light dusting of white appeared on the floor as well. Little holes of moonlight shone down into the tunnel, dappling the pavement below. It would have been beautiful if it wasn't so dark and cold and he wasn't chasing after a half-drunk child in a sexy nurse outfit.

Y'know at some point in his life that sentence might have sounded strange.

"Geoff hurry up!" Fuck. Michael's voice seemed even farther away now. How on Earth had he gotten so far so fast? Damn his little legs. "Michael, slow down!" Geoff broke into a slightly faster paced shuffled in a half-assed attempt to catch up with his friend. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

* * *

 

MEG: THE MINES

Wondering aimlessly had taken her farther than she had expected. It seems that her trek had taken her even deeper into the abandoned mines, where she had found rusted tools and an old miner's helmet, which she reluctantly put on. The lamp miraculously still gave out a weak light. It was enough to see the path in front of her, but that was about it. Good enough for now. At least there weren't any bugs in it. Or skulls from its previous owner. A shudder ran up her spine at the thought of finding human remains down here. As if it wasn't creepy enough already. Not to mention the thing that had approached her nearly 2 hours ago. Another shudder.

Now she was resting. The pain in her ankle had become searing, forcing her to halt her trek to the surface. So she found a nice, dry-ish place to sit. On the upside, it gave her an opportunity to think. Without her phone she couldn't call for help, and even if she had it there probably was no signal down here. Why would there be? She surveyed her surroundings as much as she could with what little light she had. The air smelled damp, so she assumed there was some sort of reservoir or something nearby. That would explain some of the reasons why something like that monster was down here. Drinking water, no threat from outside predators. Maybe cave-ins like the one that had swallowed her happened to the local fauna more often than they thought. But then again, wouldn't she see some remains? Most predators didn't eat bones, or so she thought. Hell, maybe she had been wrong all her life. Though, knowing her, that didn't seem entirely possible.

Meg wondered why there hadn't been any signs warning of mines just under the surface. Maybe because it was privately owned, they assumed that it would also be privately stocked with warnings. Or the Jones' were just to lazy to do so. Either way, Meg was becoming more and more pissed off by the Jones family for her situation. When she saw Michael he was gonna get such a big piece of her mind it would knock him flat on his ass. _If_ she ever saw Michael again. Meg had no hesitation when she came to the conclusion. There was a very real possibility of her dying down here. As small as it was, it was real. And it terrified her to the core.

No matter how much she tried to convince herself that someone would find her, that Ryan would save her, she felt the dread of death looming over her. She couldn't escape it's grasp. She was still only 17, far too young to die in such a horrible place and in such a horrible way. Her mind raced with all of the ways she could die here; starved, dehydration, infection from her broken arm, inhaling a poisonous gas, impaling herself on something sharp like a hook or something. Eaten by that thing.

Meg switched off her light at the thought of the thing. Darkness engulfed her once more, but  by now her eyes had mostly adjusted to it. For a while, all she could hear was her own breathing and the subtle _drip_ of water in the distance. That explained the damp smell. Her eyelids began to feel heavy as she sat completely still in the suffocating darkness. Well, she supposed, since she hadn't gotten any sleep on the way up here probably wasn't going to find another moment like this to relax, she might as well let her guard down. _Only a few minutes,_ she told herself.  _Then I'll get moving again_. 

Meg let herself fall into sleep, dreaming of her friends, of her Gavin somehow finding her.  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *airhorn noises*
> 
> ps i love it when u guys comment.... i'm sure u have a lot to say.... especially about this chapter


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a mystery, Lindsay Jones!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just wanna say that when I started this i still thought lil j had green hair and then it was blue and then it was red like lil j calm yourself

LINDSAY AND JEREMY: THE LODGE

Lindsay's head was bandaged more than needed. Jeremy had gone a bit wild with the care and cleaning of her injury, yet he somehow had neglected to put on pants. Thankfully he had pulled on a loose pair of boxers, but still. Michael and Geoff had been gone for a long time now, and Lindsay was beginning to suspect foul play. Not on them, from them. She had promised Hell, and despite her concussion she would deliver. If Jeremy ever let her sit up, that is. The green haired fuck had insisted that she wasn't allowed to sit up until the paramedic team arrived in a few hours. At least he made an attempt to keep her occupied. 

".....So then obviously you have to drink the potion. I don't think the game lets you move on if you don't drink the mysterious liquids around the creepy sky city of people who are kind of racists. Like, what if it's poison? One of the bottles is advertized with the Devil and you're still like 'yeah sign me the fuck up for that devil potion'. And don't even get me started on your companion-" He had been rambling on and on about video games ever since he had finished bandaging her. It's not that she didn't like games, she loved them! She could kick any of her friends' asses at them! But she was getting tired, and the night had been eventful enough already. "She's pretty, sure. But I feel like she had a bad rep before hand by just being your companion! She runs and gets you bullets, and money, and salts if you need to replenish your powers! She's literally the best-"

"Jeremy."

"-plus there's that big plot reveal at the end that makes her even cooler-"

"Jeremy."

"-And the bird!"

"Lil J!" Finally he stopped babbling. "I'm getting really tired, can I please sleep?" Jeremy thought for a moment. "I dunno Linds. Do you have any trouble walking? Are your pupils dilated? Can you hold a conversation?" He was clearly reciting the symptoms off of some health website, probably the first result when he searched "can you sleep with a concussion". Lindsay wasn't impressed. "I'm talking to you right now, aren't I? I think I'm fine." To demonstrate, she pushed herself up on her elbows and swung her legs over the side of the couch so they touched the ground. "Look at me, getting ready to walk away from you." Before her caretaker could stop her she was on her feet and racing down the hallway. She could hear Jeremy yelling for her to come back and calm down but she ignored him. She ran all the way to the back door, which she flung open dramatically. "I'M GOING OUTSIIIIIIDE!" Then she slammed the door shut and quickly ducked into a coat closet near the door. 

She tried to stifle a giggle as Jeremy's footsteps approached, followed by a frantic "Lindsay!" and the door opening and closing. Holy shit. He bought it! She waited for a few minutes before ducking out of the closet and locking the back door. Ha! Finally, she had pranked someone! If only Michael had been up here to see it. Now with Jeremy gone, she was free to sit back and get the sleep she felt she deserved. Although, her little prank had riled up some newfound exhilaration inside her. Maybe she could finish cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, or make her nachos, or finally explore the lodge. 

Now that she thought about it, there was a lot to do! All of her fatigue left her body and she set off to find something to occupy her time until Jeremy returned. 

* * *

JEREMY: THE WOODS

It took him a grand total of 10 minutes to realize he had been tricked. Unfortunately, by that time he had ran deep into the dark snow covered woods and gotten himself kind of completely turned around. Usually, not a big deal. Except he was wearing nothing but his boxers and the makings of a snow storm was starting to come down on him. Great.  _Now I know how female protags feel in horror_ _games._ He crossed him arms over his barrel chest and looked around for anything familiar. Nope, nothing.  _The lodge is near the top of the mountain, and I didn't go down hill at all.... so it's just a matter of finding the right direction to walk._

He spun a few times, almost playing eenie meenie miney mo to decide. He settled on west-ish. If he was wrong, he'd find out in about 10 minutes or so. The snow was almost up to his ankles when he walked and his feet sunk down into it with every step. His poor toes. As he walked he began to think of how warm the bath had been. And then of its rude interruption. The ghost! It had said something about mines, did that mean it died in secret mines under the mountain? But he didn't look like an old miner, he looked like a teenager. A teenager who had been having the worst (and last) night of his life, but still a teenager. A shiver ran through him and Jeremy wasn't sure if it was the cold or the memory of the gory wound on the kid's neck. Maybe it was both. 

West, it turned out, had been the wrong direction. And any snow that had fallen had already covered his tracks. "Oh, fuck me." He whispered. His words came with a short puff of fog from his lungs and seeing it made him feel even colder. He tried to keep him mind on the ghost because he worried that if he thought about the cold he would give into it. If he had his phone, he could search for deaths that went down here and learn some more about the boy who appeared to him. A name at least. Why he was still here. What killed him.

Another shudder moved through his skin. His back felt strange, like something was tracking it. His ghost friend? No, it was more likely than not a confused deer or predatory bird of some sort. Then it hit him. Something had taken a bite out of the ghost boy's neck. That meant there were predators on the mountain of some sort. Maybe one of them was following him. "Fuck me." He repeated, his trek turning to a power walk. He wished that his ghost had said more than just an ominous warning about mines. Even some information about his body would have sufficed. Unless.... oh my god Jeremy was an idiot. The ghost had told him about the mines. Like, went out of his way to mention it. That had to be where he died. God how had he only come to this conclusion now? The sooner he got back to the cabin, the better. 

Before he knew it, he was back where he began. At least he thought he was. That wonky tree limb looked familiar. He still felt eyes on him as he started walking East. A bear, he decided. It had to be a bear. He knew how to deal with bears. Be big. He was good at pretending to be big. He listened for the sound of a creature coming up behind him. It was faint, but it was there. Before he could chicken out he turned and held his arms over his head, yelling furiously. 

The thing in front of him might not have been a bear. 

Jeremy wouldn't have known how to describe it. Ugly, mostly. Terrifyingly huge. Humanoid. When he yelled at it, it didn't hesitate to screech right back. "FUCK ME!" Jeremy pivoted on his toes and tore through the snow.  _Please let the lodge be there, please let the lodge be there, please let the lodge be there!_

He looked over his shoulder to find the monster tearing after him on all four of its long bony limbs. His heart was beating against his chest like timpani drum keeping a rapid beat for some messed up symphony. Ahead of him hung a low hanging branch, giving him only seconds to avoid it. He threw himself to the icy ground, sliding under the branch safely. Yet he struggled to return to his feet. Man this was a bad choice. In a split second of decision making Jeremy found a tall tree and began scaling it. Maybe it couldn't climb? Plus, he was a gymnast. Jumping from slim bars and nailing landings was his forte. 

Fortune was smiling on him it seems, since the thing simply whipped its head around in confusion. It hadn't seen him yet, and it's focus was mostly on the ground level. Rude. Perfect for him, but still rude. But it didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. He had to do something. Climb higher and see if he could see the lodge from here? Move through the trees like a monkey? Then again, he could always fight back. 

* * *

1987  
CAMPBELL MOUNTAIN  
12:32 AM, 7 hours until dawn

Matt groaned. His back ached so badly, and Tina was sobbing. James…James hadn’t survived the fall. They should have listened to the rangers when they told them to turn back to the lodge. Matt wondered if the rest of their group had listened. A dark part of him hoped they hadn’t. He didn’t want them to know of their stupid mistakes. “Tina,” he croaked out. His voice sounded hoarse and rough. “Tina you need to go get help. Climb up the cliff and get help from a ranger or something.”

“I can’t.”  

“Tina please-”

“I can’t! My leg…. I can’t feel it but it looks awful, doesn’t it? Matt, your dad is a doctor, doesn’t it?!” You didn’t need to be a doctor to know how terrible it was.  Matt craned his neck to take a look at his friend’s leg, which sported a large gash on one part and shard of bone poking out on another. He was glad she couldn’t f it because of how terribly painful it looked, but knowing that she had no feeling in it meant that something worse and possibly even deadlier was going on below the skin.

It was sickening. He hoped they would be rescued before amputation was necessary. It was too late to hope that they wouldn't need to amputate. 

"I'm so so sorry Matt. Please don't be mad." Her voice quivered, resting right above a whisper. He wasn't mad.... just concerned. With Tina out of commission and his back in a questionable state there was no way for them to reach anybody to come and help them. Plus there was no food down here, and the snow storm that the rangers had promised was sure to roll in at any second. Not to mention the lack of food. If no one came to find them, they were doomed to die. He didn't want to tell Tina, but he had a feeling she already knew. She was a smart girl.

Soon night time rolled in, bringing in frigid temperatures. Matt had convinced Tina to strip James' corpse of its clothing and create a little shelter to try and keep them warm. They had found that his back wasn't broken, just severely bruised. Nothing that would kill him right off the bat. Night came and left slowly like it was slithering on its belly towards dawn. They waited. No one came.

Night came and left once more. No one came. Tina was becoming more and more scared, and with that more irritable. "Where the hell are they?! This is so bogus, they should have found us by now!" 

"T, I'm sure they're looking. It's probably harder with the snow-"

"Oh, bite me, Matt!" Tina hissed the insult through clenched teeth. Matt's stomach growled, and suddenly biting her didn't seem like such a bad idea. They had been hoping that the smell of James decomposing would stave off their hunger, but in the cold his body hadn't even started to rot. So hunger set in. Perhaps that's what made the air so thick with tension. The noon sun of the third day at the bottom of the cliff hung overhead, and still no one came for them. Matt thought of their friends back at the lodge. Of Barb and Kara, Trevor and Joel. Did they make it back to the lodge? Why weren't they worried about them? Were they even looking? His stomach growled again. 

The day slipped away, turning from Day 3 to Day 4, and then slowly to Day 5. The cold and the hunger was agonizing. Tina became agitated, and her leg worsened. It was becoming clear that they wouldn't be getting out of here soon. Matt had a choice to make. "Tina," he whispered. He could feel his guts clenching with agony. "Bring me one of the ski poles and then start a fire with the skis." Tina begrudgingly followed his orders. As the fire began to grow he pulled out the pocket knife he always carried with him and cut off a strip of fabric to tie it to one end of the pole. He scooched himself closer and closer to Tina, who was beginning to realize what was happening. 

She begged him not to do it, to stay the hell away from her but he had a mission. He warmed the blade in the fire and set to work. 

Day 6. 

Tina had finally stopped sobbing. They had wrapped her with one of James' undershirts. They had considered using the waste to fuel the fire, but they had both decided that the smell of burning flesh would have added to the unpleasant atmosphere. 

Day 7. The snow was beginning to melt. Matt showed Tina how to collect it and use it as drinking water. It had been a week, and still no sign of rescue. Matt deduced that they had about 14 more days that they could go without food. He hoped it wouldn't come to it, but something told him exactly what they could eat. 

* * *

On the other side of the mountain, a similar situation had taken place. For the past week, Barb, Trevor, and Joel had been wondering the thick wilderness. When their friends hadn't returned to the resort's lodge after the rangers gave the warning they had become worried. Against their better judgement they had snuck out right before the storm hit. As the snow came down in heavy sheets they found an abandoned cavern to hunker down in. The storm had blocked the entrance. Their only choice was to travel farther into the cave, which seemed to be an old mine shaft, and hope for another exit point. After 7 days, it became evident that there wasn't one. They had trapped themselves in the darkness. 

Barb tried to keep the mood light with frequent jokes and anecdotes, but even her cheerful spirit was beginning to dim. "If it weren't for you," Trevor jabbed a finger into Joel's chest, "we could be back at the lodge by the fireplace. Chatting it up with the ski babes!" Joel shoved him roughly in response. "Fuck you! This is your fault, too! You're the one who wanted to go deeper!"

"Guys, don't get so kirked out!" Barb wedged herself between the quarreling boys. "I wanna get out of here just as bad as you guys do!"

"Why? So you and Kara can go back to being mall-maggots?" Trevor spat. Barb's demeanor suddenly changed and she gave Trevor a shove as well. "You don't talk about me that way! You don't talk about Kara that way!" Soon all three were fuming and fussing, shoving and throwing words they didn't mean. It was strange how the mine changed them for the worse. A negative energy hung in the air. Soon 7 days turned to 8 and there was still no sign of getting out. But the real tragedy came with a cave in. Trevor was pinned underneath the rock and debris, and there was no hope of fishing him out.

And the others didn't really want to. Before either Trevor of Barb could stop him Joel located a large rock, held it over his head, and brought it down onto Trevor's skull. Barb screamed but made no move to stop him. He brought it down again and again and again until blood was oozing down the slight slope of the path. Barb felt bile rising in her throat. "What the FUCK have you done?!" She stooped down and shook Trevor vigorously but it was futile. Trevor had been gone after the third blow.

"We're never getting out. They think we're dead. Think we're goners. And I am so sick of his yelling and accusations! Now we can finally get some fucking quiet!" Barb didn't know what came over her. She snatched up a rock about the size of her fist and hurled it at Joel. It struck him on the forehead and knocked him out cold. Suddenly the darkness felt a lot heavier and loneliness set in. 

                                                                         -                                                       -                                                             -

Joel awoke to the sound of chewing. Really loud chewing. His vision was blurry and his head throbbed. His mouth tasted funny, almost metallic. When his vision focused he could see Barb. Dark red was smeared across her lips and hands and she was apparently the source of the chewing. "B-Barb?" He tried to sit up, only to have sharp pain shoot through his body. "Don't bother. I pinned you from the waist down." Sure enough there was a large stone placed on his hips. "How long..?"

"A week." He squinted in the darkness and Joel could have sworn he saw a deathly sharpness to her teeth. "What are you eating?"

"Who do you think?" Joel felt his blood run cold. There was no way. He couldn't bring himself to look over at their friends' remains, just in case his speculations were correct. "How could you?"

"Don't act all high and mighty, you've been eating it too. You would kind of half wake up and I'd feed you. Otherwise you'd be dead." He couldn't believe this. Her nonchalant tone while she described the horror she had subjected them to. He ran his tongue across his teeth, finding that they seemed sharper than before. He had read some shit about this kind of thing in some book from the school library. That sort explained how she had moved such a heavy rock on top of him all by herself. He wondered how long it had been before she gave in to the madness and began consumption. He wondered how much time he had left before he gave into it to.

* * *

RYAN: THE WOODS

How long had he been running? His legs and his lungs burned painfully but he was afraid to stop. Afraid to die. He jumped over a fallen tree, his stride only faltering a bit before he kept running. The path in front of him was filled with all sorts of obstacles. He duck beneath a branch, his reaction time lagging a bit and his shoulder bumped the underside. His booted feet skid along an icier surface, but somehow he managed to stay mostly upright. Ryan glanced over his shoulder. Nothing seemed to be following any more, but he knew better.

Before he knew it he had reached a small ledge. He hauled himself up onto the ledge and began running once more. He looked down momentarily and saw a dark trail leading off into the trees. He paused. It was dark and contrasted with the white snow, and it looked consistent, like something had been dragged. He felt compelled to follow it. He paused, as if something like an in-game option was keeping him from moving forward. What should he choose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha who doesn't love cannibalism
> 
> COMMENT WHETHER U THINK RYAN SHOULD FOLLOW THE TRAIL OR NOT


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan decided to follow the trail. Nothing could prepare him for what happened next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly most of the plot in this story is a surprise to me too  
> Special thank you to Vagaybond! They have been leaving really encouraging comments on previous chapters!

Ryan decided to follow the trail. The blood was fresh, like it had been spilled within the last hour. It veered off the original path and into the parts of the woods where the trees were thicker. The farther he went the darker it got, like it was getting fresher and fresher. And the snow was packed down like something or someone had been dragged through it. Ryan's mind raced with all of the things that could have spilled the blood in the first place. He thought of his environmental science class, of all of the things that inhabited a mountain biome. 

The deer and many other herbivores eat plants such as grass and trees. Predators like wolves, bears, and mountain lions ate the herbivores. Stuff like ants and fungi decomposed and got eaten by the predators.... or whatever.

Bits of him hoped it was just another wounded deer. There were countless possibilities as to what could have created the trail.  _It can't be that bad._ He repeated in his mind.  _It can't be that bad, it can't be that bad, it can't be that bad._ But of course, there was the off chance that it was, indeed, that bad. Not that he wanted it to be. He had held a severed deer head in his hands, had seen the flesh and bone being snapped and torn. He didn't want it to be worse than that, honestly. 

The closer he got, if he listened, faint whimpers of pain became clearer and clearer. It didn't sound like a deer. The trail seemed to end in thick foliage, the thick prickly kind that would hide anything from sight if someone wasn't looking hard enough. He wasn't that someone. Without a second thought he plunged his hands into the foliage and parted it. He felt his blood run cold.

"Ryan? Is that you?"

* * *

MEG: THE MINES  
3:00 AM

Meg opened her eyes slowly. Of course, it wasn't a dream. She was still down here all alone. She flicked on her head lamp and slowly shuffled to her feet. Her arm ached and since it hadn't been properly set she was worried that it might heal incorrectly and they would have to rebreak it. She wondered if her friends were looking for her. A negative thought intruded her mind and whispered  _Of course they aren't. Why would they come for someone like you?_ But she tried to ignore it. It was easier said than done.

Her surroundings hadn't changed much since the last time she closed her eyes. Still a dark, musty, abandoned mine that could very well be her grave. But on the bright side, the path ahead of her seemed to slope upwards which had to mean the exit was nearer than she had previously expected. She gave a weak smile and began walking. The air became less thick, and if she really looked for it she could almost make out speckles of light shining through holes in the ceiling. Then the tunnel split off into two separate paths. One probably led to the surface, the other to an unknown part of the mine. She paused.

It was a simple choice. Only two options, but one would save her life and the other could mean the end of it. They looked nearly identical. So after a long time in deep thought, she chose the right tunnel. 

The tunnel smelled different from the other tunnels. Not bad, just different. A bit more musty, kind of like the outdoors, and it was a bit colder. She hoped that meant she was heading the right direction. Her feet kicked at loose pebbles and rocks as she went along, the occasional twig snapping under the soles of her boots. Everything was pointing to good things. Her heart rate jumped with joy and she shuffled as fast as she could. 

Something snapped under her foot. Something big, bigger than the twigs. The loud noise echoed through the cavern and she flinched. When she lifted her foot, she didn't quite process what it was right away. Then it hit her like a train. Bone shards lay scattered where her foot had once fell. They weren't a pristine white any longer, so they had been here for a while. But she still screamed. Her own surprised yell echoed off the walls and back to her ears and she tried her best to keep her balance. The last thing she needed was another fall, no matter how short.

She covered her mouth with her free hand and tried to repress the urge to gag. What the hell had left that bone down here in the first place? That weird monster thing from earlier? Had she found its layer or something? Her hand shook as her mind raced with all of the things she could do. In her state, running still wasn't an option. And with the off chance of the exit being this way, did she really want to turn around and go back into the mines where the monster could be lurking? She decided to keep going in the direction she had chosen. If it got worse, she'd turn around and take the other tunnel. 

The farther she went, the more bones she saw. Some were yellowed with age and spotted with brown of dried blood. Some were fresher and still had meat on them. The joy was quickly turning to dread. It was looking worse. But something compelled her to move forward. Something waiting for her to find it. She had to keep moving. The rocks on the floor seemed to become bigger the deeper she went. They also seemed to occur more frequently and in clusters. Some rocks were alone, some were in groups as big as 3 big rocks with multiple little pebbles. Bones poked out from every crevice. She shuddered. 

Light began to shine into the cavern and she felt like whooping with joy. There  _was_ a way out up ahead. Meg's keen intuition hadn't failed her! Her hobbling sped up and the pale moonlight shone brighter. She opted to switch off her head lamp and bask in the natural light,  _God_ it was so good to see natural light. The air smelled and even felt fresher. The only thing keeping her from running was her injuries. She was almost there.

Almost there.

Then she stopped. 

She was indeed outside, there was no doubting that. The moon shone down on her from the lip of an incredibly steep, impossibly tall cliff side. Her heart collapsed. This...this couldn't be it. This couldn't be the only exit, could it? Maybe there was another entrance somewhere that led to the real exit along the wall. She didn't even believe herself. The negative thoughts of death came crawling back into her brain as she explored the area.  _You'll die here. You'll never make it back home. Gavin will never see you again. Ryan will never see you again._

"Shut up..." she muttered to herself. There was nothing. No cracks in the wall, let alone an entrance. There was a large rock slide, but there was no way in hell that she could scale that with her arm like it was. Some of the rocks had large claw marks on them, like the thing she had seen earlier. So that's how it was getting in and out. Hopefully that didn't mean it was the only way. She was moving some of the smaller rocks with the toe of her boot when something bright caught her eye.

A bit of bright turquoise; well it had been bright years ago. It was dirty and covered in various shades of brown, the most prominent being a rusty shade. Meg stooped down and pushed a few more rocks aside. She could see now that the scrap of color was fabric, most likely a ski jacket. It had been down here for a while, decades maybe. She grabbed it and tugged. She wondered what poor sap would have lost his jacket all these years ago. With one final tug she got her answer. 

The rocks tumbled away from the secret they had been hiding and revealed the owner of the jacket. It was bloody, especially near the neck. A tattered scarf was wrapped around it's skull and teeny nearly non existent bits of muscle still clung to the bone. She didn't know how that was even possible. The dirty state of the bones and the style of the clothing set the corpse somewhere in the 80's. If she wasn't Meg Turney, fashion expert, she might not even realize the material was fabric in the first place. Her knowledge was finally coming in handy in a real life situation! Take that, Mr. Burns.

She flung the skeleton away from her in panic. A real human skeleton. Bones that had once been a living breathing person. It landed face down and Meg cringed at the sound of the bone cracking a bit from the impact. The jacket was a bit torn at the back and something told her to lift it up. She did so, fighting the urge to cry or puke. Once the jacket was out of the way she could see mild fractures on a few of the vertebrae which might have contributed to his death. She felt kind of like a forensic analyst or something cool like that. "Meg the forensic analyst gal." She muttered. It didn't ring as well as "Ryan the ___ guy" did. Luckily she was the only one to hear it. 

Back to the matter at hand, this all but confirmed her fears. She could die here and end up like whoever this had been. The trauma to the bones alone made her nervous. They could have fallen just like she had and died because of it. Meg felt tears begin to fall down her cheeks and onto her hands. Suddenly a strange howl tore through the night air. She flinched. It sounded close, like whatever it was might was planning on coming down into the hole. 

Meg panicked. She remembered how she had protected herself before and quickly squished herself between the wall and the rocks. Every muscle in her body went rigid as another screech echoed from the mouth of the tunnel. Great. That was just what she needed. Her body refused to move, even as rocks came slipping down near her from the creature's movements, even when the second came crawling out of the mines. In the moonlight she could make out its humanoid figure and features. To her, it looked like someone had taken a corpse and stretched it like spaghetti until it was taller than any human would ever be and far more horrifying to look at. To her horror, it seemed to look right at her for a moment before letting out a wretched scream. Still, she remained motionless. Thank God for her will power. 

The creature paused for a moment more, then scurried up the side of the cliff to join the other one that had thankfully stayed at the top. Meg sat in motionless silence for what seemed like forever before she slowly inched her way out of her corner. She caught sight of the remains. The skull had been crushed by a falling rock. Sadness settled in her stomach. There was nothing she could have done, they had died decades ago... but it still hurt to see human life thrown away like it didn't matter, tossed down here and abandoned. She thought of their family. What had they done, when they lost their child? Did they even know where they had ended up? Did they look for them?

Meg was crying again. For the skeleton, for herself, for her friends. But she couldn't stand here and mourn all night. She had to go back into the mines and take the other tunnel. And she figured the monsters wouldn't wait for her to find a way out to attack her again. 

* * *

 

MICHAEL AND GEOFF  
THE BASEMENT?

Michael, admittedly, was tipsy. He should have realized that after he put on the wig and the nurse uniform but never mind all that. This is what solidified it for him. Here he was, in the basement of a lodge he had been coming to for literally years now, and he was lost. Nothing looked familiar, and it was so cold he could feel his nipples poking through the sheer fabric of the nurse uniform. Geoff could tell too, and Michael made a big dramatic scene of covering them from "predatory eyes". 

"Look, I'm not saying you fucked us over with your shenanigans but-" 

"Yeah yeah yeah. Save it Ramsey, I get it." Michael took another swig from his bottle (which was now close to empty) and pressed a hand to his chin. They could always turn around, but there had been so many turns that he wasn't sure if he could remember the exact pattern they had taken down here in the first place. To his intoxicated mind, going forward seemed to be the only option. Geoff was either too drunk or honestly didn't care enough anymore to argue. But he was not too much of either of those things to keep from complaining. 

"Y'know if you hadn't thought 'oh I'll just douse myself in fake blood and bury a stage knife in my chest haha that'll show her' then maybe we could just be back upstairs drinking. As opposed to down here, drinking." Geoff's drink had run out a while ago and Michael wondered if that contributed to his agitation. "Hey you're an enabler, what can I say? Plus we're on an adventure, whiny asshole." Michael took the final swig of his beer and promptly smashed the bottle on the ground. The sound echoed through the hallway and down into the unknown darkness. Michael hollered after it. 

Something hollered back. 

"Well that was..... That was different." Geoff remembered the last thing the ghost had spelled out for them on the board before it flung the glass against the wall. The mines.... "Hey, Michael, about the seance earlier-"

"I'm gonna follow that voice."

"What?"

"The voice that yelled at us, I'm going to fight it." Geoff let out a heavy sigh. He shot out a hand to catch him but he was too quick. Before he could even say "Don't you fucking dare" Michael was, once again, running away from him to fight what was probably his own echo. Geoff called after him and shuffled behind him, exhausted by his friend's antics. Though he had to admit, out of all of the people up on the mountain right now, Michael was the one he could stand the most. He was agreeable, most of the time, and always followed instructions. Like that time they tried to do an online wrestling match with their friends from California and Michael was the only one who bothered to do it on time. 

 But it was times like this that made Geoff remember why he was stressed like a man bordering his 50s when he was only like.... God damn how old was he again? Never mind, didn't matter. He found Michael trudging through snowdrifts that had piled up to his ankles. "Michael, come on." At least he had kept on his shoes, Geoff couldn't imagine someone wandering around in the snow with no shoes. A chill ran through him. He felt that, somewhere, someone was doing exactly that. The dumb bastard. 

"Geoff you don't understand I have to fight it." Geoff thought about how easy it would be to pluck him up and carry him back upstairs. Geoff thought of his back and how he would utterly fuck it if he even thought of trying that. No dice. Just wait it out until Michael got tired and gave up? Also no dice. When Michael Jones got drunk he got energized and ready to do anything and everything and there was little chance of him giving up anytime soon. Maybe he could wait till they hit a dead end and then try and convince him to turn around. That was the most likely to work out of all of those strategies. 

"I can smell something, can't you? Smells like...ass." Geoff took a deep breath. He _could_ smell something. It smelled rotten, but he couldn't quite place his finger on what might be rotting this far down. Could be anything honestly. But of course, not even a rank smell could deter Michael. He actually seemed to be following the smell, like a drunk hound dog.

They reached a room with a door. The look on Michael's face suggested that he had never been down to this part before. The door knob was busted, just hanging off of the door by a single nail. Something, or someone had busted it off. Michael reached for the door, but he hesitated. Geoff let out a heavy sigh and pushed him aside. He lifted his leg and kicked it in without hesitation. Michael poked his head inside. He deemed the mystery room safe enough and entered with Geoff in tow. The room seemed simple. Nothing too fancy, a whiteboard with smudged writing that looked like it had been hastily erased. A desk was positioned in front of the board with various papers strewn across the surface. Michael picked one up. It was illegible. Had something smeared across it. 

The smell had gotten stronger, almost unbearable. The source of the smell was undoubtedly in this room. While Michael continued to look through the papers, Geoff searched the rest of the room. A chair that had probably been partnered with the desk was thrown across the room and cracked right down the middle. Some of what had been smeared on the papers was also on the chair. Still unidentifiable. Within the room there was another door, most likely a little closet. Geoff tried to turn the knob. It was unlocked. 

His chest clenched. Something made him feel really uneasy, something telling him that he really, _really,_ didn't want to open this door. His hand was almost on the door knob when Michael cried out. Geoff turned around only to be met with a gruesome [face. ](http://until-dawn.wikia.com/wiki/File:KillerCharacterBox.png)

It was bone white with the "skin" around the nose ripped away to reveal empty socket and exposed the gums. It had a cracked look around the eyes and the eyebrows looked stenciled on, kind of smudged in some places. Bits of scraggly black hair clung to the scalp. Geoff let out a very high pitched scream. The face laughed at him but it's mouth (or what was left of it) didn't move. "Michael, god dammit! Take that thing off!"

The curly hair poking out over the edge of the mask had been a give away, but only after Geoff had had his panic session. Michael pulled the mask off, still laughing hysterically. "I found it in one of the desk drawers! It smells kinda funny though. Like it was just left here or something." Geoff snatched the mask out of his hands and threw it across the room. His lips were pressed into a thin line. Without a word he turned back to the door and resumed his previous unnecessarily tense position. Geoff twisted the knob. It was Michael's turn to scream.

The closet was filled with severed head. They had each been strung up on chains and hooks and were in various state of decay. Judging by the putrid smell, the earliest had been strung up probably a year ago at the latest. The oldest was little more that a punctured skeleton now. There were about 6 of them in there. Some had long hair, one was black, and each had horrible injuries. The black head had a giant hole under his jaw, one of the girl's jaw had been torn off completely. Papers began shuffling again and Geoff knew that Michael had forced himself to do something else to avoid looking at the gore in the closet. Who had done this? Why had they done this?

"Geoff, these papers are all crazy... but I think a few of them are on to something." Geoff felt a tugging at his sleeve and he turned back to face Michael who handed him a haphazardly stacked piled of papers. "Just read them."

The first few papers had smudged writing that detailed the mountains geography and a map with certain points circled. Each circle also contained a letter. Possibly where the bodies had been found. The next papers had letters and small bits of text written beside them.

**_A- Basement tunnels. Decapitated_ **

**_C- Outside lodge. Decapitated_ **

**_M- Mines. Hooked through chin_ **

**_J- Mines. Jaw torn off_ **

**_???- Outside lodge. Decapitated._ **

**_B- Mines. Unknown. Deceased for year prior to discovery._ **

"This is.... this is..." Michael struggled to find the words to describe what the hell he was feeling about this discovery. His hands were shaking and he continued to leaf through the papers for something legible. One paper was a crude drawing of something long and bony holding a severed head. Geoff wondered who else was occupying this mountain.

* * *

 RYAN: THE WOODS

"Ryan? Is that you?"  

Brown eyes beneath thick rimmed glasses peered up at him. Blood was still pouring from a gash on his leg. "Ray!" Ryan stooped down and pulled his friend to his feet. Ray wobbled from the strain on his wounded leg and fell against Ryan's chest. "Ryan, holy shit." He muttered. His hands curled into fists in the material of his shirt and he let out a shaky sigh. "Ray, what are you doing all the way out here? Wh-what happened to you? Your leg?" Ryan felt Ray start to shake. "Fuck if I know. This... this thing came out of the woods when me and Gavin were looking for you guys." Ryan mentally kicked himself. Everything that happened to his friends tonight seemed to be his fault. He wanted to split up and that had led to Meg getting hurt and now Ray and Gavin-

Wait.

"Where's Gavin?" Ray groaned. His leg was giving him all kinds of grief. Ryan let him put his weight against him as he spoke. "Gavin left me here. I haven't seen him since. Ryan, listen we have to get out of here! The thing is still hanging around here, I've been hearing it scream ever since Gavin left and I don't know if it can smell blood or what the deal is with that but we have to get out of here. Now." Ray's head whipped around as he tried to scope out the monster. Ryan thought that maybe the thing that attacked Ray could have been the same thing that killed the deer, but that would mean that either Ray had been out here alone and bleeding for hours or that whatever had killed the deer had passed him and attacked Ray.

Or that there were more than one of those freaking things out here.

Ryan's heart started to race. He had to get Ray out of here. _Right. **Now.**_

He shifted his weight and tipped Ray into his arms, carrying him bridal style. "I'm flattered but I do have legs." Of course. Gravely injured but still sarcastic as hell. "Yeah but your legs are aren't exactly in running condition so I guess you're stuck like this. Sorry I don't make the rules." Ryan followed the blood trail back to where it started and then used Ray as a nifty little navigation system. "There's a rockslide up here in a bit, be careful going down on it. Gav and I almost fell the last time we climbed it." His face darkened. He was worried about Gavin. Ryan was too, but he could always come back for him. Right now Ray needed to get back to the lodge where Michael could handle this mess. Ryan carefully maneuvered the slide, only slightly jostling his cargo and his own sore shoulder when a few of the rocks supporting his foot slid away and sent him to the bottom. Regardless he pressed on. 

Ray led him to the guest cabin where they picked up Ray's DS and changed their position so now Ray was riding piggy back instead of princess. This is where things got rough. Ray knew how to get back to the guest cabin. Ray knew where he left his DS and it's charger. Ray didn't know how to get back to the main lodge. "I dunno man," he stated when Ryan confronted him about it, "we kinda just ran here. Some deer were getting chased by something and we ran. After what happened to my leg I guess it was the best choice." Ryan let out a heavy sigh. Typical. They explored for a bit and if Ray said he didn't recognize something they would try another direction. Ray didn't really recognize much. 

Ryan forgot exactly how long they had been walking when he heard the noises. Ray's breath hitched and he felt him tense against him. "Ryan, stop." Ryan didn't listen and in fact began to walk even faster. There were more shuffling noises from behind them. Ray kept hissing for him to  _stop moving, dammit_ , and Ryan kept ignoring him. Ray dug his knees into Ryan's side and practically strangled him with his arms as he leaned back. Finally Ryan gave in and stopped. "Ray, what the he-" Ray clapped a hand over his mouth and whispered "Do not move." Ryan was about to reach up and remove the hand when he heard it. A low growl, almost human in tone. Then a screech. Definitely human in tone. The snow behind them crunched as the monster drew closer. Ray was shaking, but Ryan could feel him trying to steel himself. 

"Leave me." He whispered. "Leave me and run." Ray had this plan from the moment Gavin left him behind. He was nothing but an anchor like this and whatever attacked him was strong enough to nearly take his leg off with a side sweep. And if it was the same thing Ryan encountered then it was fast as hell. He couldn't be the reason that Ryan died here too.  _Like Gavin did..._

"I'm not leaving you, are you crazy?!" Ryan hissed. You wouldn't think Ray was capable of shrugging in his current position but there he was, doing it anyways. "I'm not leaving you." He couldn't lose another friend to the mountain. The snow crunched and sweat began to bead on his temple. He wasn't going to leave Ray... but could he outrun it with the extra weight?

He was just gonna have to see. He rocketed out of the area, his grip on Ray tightening. Ray was shouting for him to stop and just leave him to die but Ryan tuned him out. A hop over a log, a quick turn left. He could hear it scurrying after him and if the screeches were any indicator it was pissed. He ran and he ran until both his arms and legs ached like they were going to fall off. Through the sheets of snow and thick tree branches he could see light nearby. Could it be? Had aimlessly fleeing for his life once again brought him conveniently to life's doorstep?

The lodge was literally within an arms reach when his foot caught the underside of a fallen tree. He stumbled and found him self tumbling to the ground. He heard Ray scream and looked up just in time to see long bloody claws fly just past Ray's black locks. Just like they had the monster fell flat on it's face. That was enough time to escape. Ryan used one hand to push himself back up and the other to secure Ray. He went for the side door and twisted the knob. Locked. Why the hell was it locked?! 

"HEY! HEY SOMEONE OPEN THE DOOR!!" He alternated between pounding on the door and frantically turning the knob. The thing pulled itself up and shook the snow from its skin. It let out a horrid hiss and Ray let out a terrified scream at the sight of it's long teeth. "SOMEBODY OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR!" The creature screeched and lunged forward. At the last second the door clicked open and Ryan felt something yank him in. His injured shoulder hit the floor and pain blossomed through it. Ray had been flung from his back and yelped with pain from his leg. Ryan peered up at their savior. 

"LINDSAY LOCK THE DOOR!" The blonde's eyes went wide but she listened without hesitation. The door banged as the monster outside flung itself against it. Lindsay stumbled back and fell on her ass. They all remained perfectly still.... this was do or die right here. The creature peered inside and screeched a few times. Finally it seemed to accept that its prey was gone for good and stalked away. Lindsay turned with wide eyes that were brimming with tears. 

"Someone please tell me what the hell that was."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i used the first part of the chapter to review for my environmental science class
> 
> Btw my birthday is TODAY! November 25th! This chapter is kind of like a present to myself from myself bc i've been dying to get it written out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frightened and with no where else to turn, the gang tries to contact their friends on the other side (of the world)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the ninth chapter.... holy shit. I never ever thought I would write something that over 300 people would read, let alone love it like you guys have! As a present for the next chapter, I would like to include artwork. Of course I'll draw it, but if you'd like to you can send in some fanart and I'll slap that in there!

CALLING: Jack_P

Jack had been enjoying his winter break with Caiti. He had saved up all year to pay for a round trip to Australia and only had a few days left with her before he went home. That was why he was reluctant to answer the Skype call. But Caiti had told him that it was fine. She thought his friends were funny and would love to talk to them. So he accepted the call. 

"Hey guys, what's up?" There was no video, and he could barely hear the audio. "Guys?" 

"Jack? Ja-you ther-?!" He couldn't quite make out who exactly was calling for him but through the static he could hear panic. Caiti leaned on his shoulder and looked at the screen questioningly. "You guys? Who's there?" The video finally caught up and fizzled in. Fizzled being the key word. The video was choppy, only showing a few frames per minute. Plus he didn't think anyone had actually bothered to turn on any lights. But even through the poor video quality and darkness, he could almost make out Lindsay and Ryan's worried expressions. "He- us! You ha- o h-lp us! Monster-bleedi- Jack?" Caiti looked at him with concern. "Probably just a drunk prank, you know how they can get." He was also trying to reassure himself. He had never seen Ryan look so scared. And There was a reddish brown staining the sleeves of his jacket and his hands. He supposed it could possibly be blood, and not the dumb fake kind that Michael kept on hand sometimes.

"Sorry, did you guys say bleeding? Who's bleeding?" He could see Lindsay's mouth moving in the tiny video screen, but all that came out was static and noises like somebody typing loudly on a keyboard whenever they tried to talk. Caiti leaned closer to the screen. "Are....you....all.....right?" She questioned slowly hoping that it would make its way through the static and choppy signal. "Is that Caiti?" Finally something clear. "Yes! Hello you two!" She waved excitedly to the pair on screen. Their faces made no indication that they had seen it. Frozen again. 

"Ray is blee- please w- n't know what to do!" 

"I'm sorry, did you say Ray is bleeding? What happened? Guys? Guys? What happened on the mountain?!" 

Jack never got his answer

* * *

JEREMY: THE WOODS

Jeremy was a happy guy, most of the time. He liked video games, either playing or watching. He liked to rap and had been told he was pretty good for a white guy. He liked gymnastics and football and he was pretty skilled at karate. He had once kicked a desk in half....

That was it!! He would kick it! That would stun it long enough for him to get away! He moved slowly along the tree branches. The monster below him let out little shrieks, its head whipping around at every little noise. Like it was listening for him, waiting for him to slip up. Jeremy didn't want to know what kind of things those talons or those teeth could do. If hypothermia didn't do him in first. 

He shivered slightly. His fingers and toes were both a bright crimson from the chill and he didn't even want to think about the other effects it was having on his body. The bark was biting into his feet as he crept along it and sure it hurt but he didn't really have room to complain about it. He was the one who had gotten himself trapped out here. Curse his caring heart...

The creature had it's back turned to him. It seemed unaware of him for once, perfect for his plan of attack. He waited for it to move so the middle of its back would be positioned just below him. Then he jumped down, leg out for kicking. 

The beast didn't even flinch. He tumbled off of the monster like water off its rubbery skin. "FUCK!" He barked as he scrambled to his feet. And somehow he was back where he started. How unfair could life be? His racing feet kicked up snow and he stumbled every once in awhile over sticks and rocks. He didn't remember the path being this rocky beforehand. Maybe it was a different? Path? The one that led home? One could only hope. And oh boy, was he hoping. 

He could hear the thing charging along behind him. It seemed that kicking it hadn't been his best idea of the night. And he had had a lot of bad ideas tonight. This was only second to the fact that HE WENT OUTSIDE IN THE COLD WITHOUT SHOES ON!!!!!!! If he survived he would never ever let himself live this down. He doubted anyone else would either. When he looked down, he could see footprints in the snow. Human, deep and smudgy like whoever made them had been running. They couldn't have been his because whoever made them was smart and wore shoes outside. Possibly making yet another bad choice, Jeremy decided to follow the tracks. Oh god he hoped this helped.

* * *

MICHAEL AND GEOFF: THE BASEMENT??

"Wendigos." Michael pushed more papers into his hands. Geoff was amazed by how quickly fear had sobered them up. Now they were leafing through the papers, sorting out the legible information and putting it together into coherent thoughts. It was much harder than they thought it would be. "They call the things wendigos. See?" Michael pointed to a drawing of the lanky beast with a hurried scratchy word scribbled next to it. If you squinted really really hard, Geoff supposed you could see the letters that would form the word "wendigo". 

"So we know that it kills people, and we know a name. Now all we have to find out is...." Geoff paused and sighed. "Everything else about it." If the words hadn't been covered with blood they were torn to bits or simply written to messily to understand. "Well we know that it doesn't eat heads. Or like it won't eat them. Y'know the name wendigo sounds familiar. I'll keep looking." Geoff nodded. He had organized the papers into piles. Information regarding the mountain's history in one pile, another for the wendigos themselves, and one for the bodies. So far they only had one for that pile. 

"Anything new on the closet heads?" Michael shook his head. "No, nothing. No full names, no killers." Although they already had a good idea of what had killed all of them. And now they had a name for it. "I did find something else about the mountain though. A little map! Look at that it's got trails and everything. This must be from back when this was a public resort." Geoff had to admit, it did have an 80's aesthetic to it. "Alright, I'll add it to the pile." 

The pile that had information on the mountain was the largest. They had several maps from different time periods. One of them was so old that it still had the old mental institution on it. The Jones had torn it down after they had learned about the miners who had been incarcerated there. Besides, Geoff had heard rumors about finding a human corpse in there, one much fresher than the ones from the 50s when the place had officially closed down. No one had really confirmed that though. 

Another paper had detailed all the wildlife that inhabited the surrounding areas. Bobcats, bears, deer, and even wolves. "And apparently demons from Hell..." Geoff muttered as he tossed it onto the pile. Every time they revealed more information about the things that had gone down on the mountain in the past, Michael seemed to tense up. His parents had never told him anything about the sanatorium or the mines or the horrible things that had happened within them. "Look at this." Michael held a newspaper in his hands. The headline read "7 LOCAL TEENS MISSING ON CAMPBELL MOUNTAIN". 

"Some of the names are scratched out. Like someone took a pen and colored over the last names. So it says 'Teens Matt, Tina, James, Barb, Cara, Trevor, and Joel have been missing since December 20th. The teens were last seen at Campbell Mountain Resort for a winter holiday getaway. Employees say that Matt, Tina, and James were warned by the park rangers about an incoming blizzard. The teens never arrived at the main lodge, causing officials to believe that they possibly were lost in the storm. The whereabouts of the other are also unknown. Sources say three of them departed shortly after the news of their friends disappearances and the remaining teen, Cara disappeared first thing in the morning. Rangers are still looking for any sign of the missing persons and hope to find them sooner than later. 'There is a variety of wildlife on the mountain,' Park ranger Daniels says, 'but the chances of any of them hurting the children are very slim. We will be able to find them within a week's ti-"

Michael threw the paper to the floor. "Someone wrote liar across the rest of it. A whole bunch." He put his head in his hands. "They never told me, they never.... All those kids are dead and they never thought to tell me 'Oh by the way be extra careful because there are literal demons walking around up there and they like to massacre people'. I bring my friends here all the time! Wouldn't something like this at least worry them?!" Geoff placed a reassuring hand on Michael's shoulder. "I know we have that stupid saying, 'What happens on the mountain stays on the mountain' but that doesn't apply to an actual pile of bodies! Why didn't they fucking tell me?!" Michael grabbed the paper, balled it up, and flung it across the room. It bounced off the wall without so much as a sound. 

"Come on, we should head upstairs. The others should know about this." Geoff collected all of the papers they had accumulated and helped pull Michael to his feet.

* * *

RYAN, LINDSAY, RAY: THE LODGE

"Dammit!" Ryan slammed his fist onto the coffee table. "It's okay, it's okay! We can just call them back! We'll call back and-"

"And what?! He's in Australia, Lindsay! What the hell can he do from there?!" Ryan had been on edge since they had gotten back. But after losing connection to Jack and Caiti he seemed even worse. Lindsay grabbed his arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "We can ask them how to stop the bleeding. Jeremy already called the paramedics for me, when they get here in a few hours we'll just tell them about the others."

She was trying hard to keep a level head. For everyone else's sake. After Ryan and Ray had explained to her what happened out in the wilderness, she knew that their chances of survival were dwindling into single digits with every minute that passed. Plus there was a dull ache in her own head that made everything seem a bit fuzzy.

Ray had promptly dozed off as soon as they finished wrapping his wound the best they could. Like Lindsay had said, Jack or Caiti could probably give them instructions on properly treating it. They had called them twice now. The first call didn't make it through. The second cut out before they could ask for help. Ryan's leg shook with all of his pent up anxiety. "Screw Jack. I can't wait anymore. I have to find Meg and Gavin."

"And Jeremy." Lindsay added. The glare Ryan shot her made her wince. Yeah, it was her fault that Jeremy was possibly freezing to death in a monster infested forest. At least she could admit her mistakes. "Like you've never played a stupid prank that went wrong!" She had defended. She had never heard Ryan yell that loudly at her before. It scared her. Ray had at least given her a sympathetic look before he hit the snooze button and fucked off to dreamland. "And Jeremy. Dammit..." Ryan slowly got up from his seat on the floor and wandered into the kitchen. There was a lot of loud shuffling, some muttered curses, and a crash or two. "Rye, what the hell are you do-"

"Where does Michael keep the kerosene?" He cut her off. "The what?" Lindsay pulled herself to her feet and followed him into the kitchen. Ryan and pulled one of the cabinet doors off of its hinges and smashed it into vertical splints he had wrapped in scraps of cloth. Lindsay couldn't help but notice the butchered state of the tablecloth. "The kerosene. I don't think cooking oil will burn as long or as well."

"We have flashlights upstairs."

"Yeah but wild animals are more afraid of fire than they are of flashing lights." He reasoned. Lindsay felt the dull ache come back. This time she wasn't sure if it was the concussion or the sheer wildness of Ryan's plan. "I think he keeps some out back by the firewood. I'll get it." He gave her a two finger salute and went back to work defacing Michael's kitchen.

The snow had finally stopped falling. Lindsay was glad they had started a fire before, since all of the wood would be too wet to burn by now. Like she had said, the can of kerosene was sitting untouched by the woodpile. She grabbed it and ran back inside as fast as she could. After what she say she couldn't see the appeal of standing outside unprotected for too long. "Ryan, I got your fire fuel!" Ray shifted on the couch, reminding her to try and keep her voice down a bit. Ryan was still in the kitchen. He had a grill lighter in his hands, but he couldn't quite get it to light. "Here, give em to me." She held out her hands and he deposited his makeshift torches in her arms. She carried them into the living room and set them down near the fire place. It was still burning a bit from earlier, enough to complete their task.

She opened the can and dipped the cloth wrapped ends into the liquid. Then she held it in the fireplace like she was roasting marshmallows. "Here, one should last you long enough. Take a couple extra if you need them. If Meg really is still in the mines, it will be dark. But it will also be filled with a fuckton of flammable shit." Ryan nodded and held the torch at arms length. "Be careful. Please." 

"I will. Don't worry about me." He gave her a one armed hug and then turned to Ray. The Puerto Rican teen was starting to wake up again. The noise and stress-heavy atmosphere had disturbed his slumber. "Hey Ray." Ryan whispered. Ray started to sit up but Ryan placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get up. I'm going to find Meg and Gavin."

"And Jeremy." Lindsay whispered.

"I'll be back with them soon, I promise." Ray smiled sleepily. "You're a real hero, Haywood." Ray sat up, despite Ryan's protests, and hugged him tightly. "You're my hero." Ryan wasn't normally a sappy romantic guy. He was almost never the sappy romantic guy. Why did his heart clench when Ray said that? What kind of fucked up feelings were coursing through him that made him feel like now was the time to do this? Why wasn't he ignoring them? 

Before he could change his mind he pushed Ray back and kissed him. A light touch of the lips, nothing big or fancy or romantic. Just a peck. In the back of his mind he could hear Lindsay yelling something along the lines of "What the fucking hell holy shit is it finally happening?" but it didn't quite register. He pulled away and smiled. "I'll be back. Get some rest." Ray looked at him with wide eyes. For a second, Ryan thought he had majorly fucked up. But then Ray smiled. "See you soon then."

Ryan smiled back. He headed for the door, gave them the instruction to lock this behind him and only open it when he came back, and disappeared into the night.  

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so lol i never write romance? but i tried..... for u..... *blows a kiss at the computer for all u lovely readers*


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't supposed to be like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit you know my dudes? Also super thank you to the people who read this fic it really encourages me to see people enjoying my work

MEG: THE MINES

The smell was starting to get even worse. After the exposure to clean and fresh air the mines seemed sour and musty once more. She just hoped it wouldn't stay that way for too long. She was making her way back towards the forked tunnels. In her heart she knew that the other tunnel could be her only option at this point. If her arm wasn't broken, or at the very least had been set properly, she would be able to climb the rocks and make it to safety. But alas, there were no medical professionals trapped down in the mines with her. Just spidery, humanoid monsters that probably ate human flesh. 

Although she hadn't seen one since she left the clearing beneath the rocky height. There were two there, and that was two more than she had ever wanted to see in her life. The walk back into the mines seemed to take longer. Maybe it was the dread of heading back into such a dark cramped space was holding her back. Every drip of water or gust of wind or scrape of her injured foot against the dirt made her wince and flinch. She didn't want to return to what had been a slice of Hell for the past few hours. But she had no other choice. 

Meg finally reached the opening she had previously discovered. "The left tunnel it is, then." She flipped her head lamp back on and peered into the foreboding darkness ahead of her. In the dark light she could see something moving towards her. Her eyes went wide as whatever it was advanced on her. It moved quickly and it didn't seem to be stopping, but it was coming right towards her. Meg let out a scream and shielded her face as a small swarm of bats flew from the mouth of the cave and collided with her. Their leathery wings slapped against her skin and her clothes and she stumbled blindly to get away. She thought she even felt one tangle in her hair. The horror seemed to last for longer than the few seconds it actually endured. "Left tunnel, you are starting to look less and less appealing." Meg muttered. 

Luckily for her, the bats were the worst surprise the tunnel had given her so far. She was about 5 minutes into the tunnel and despite the sour stench of bat shit, everything seemed to be going smoothly. She placed her hand on the stone walls that surrounded her. Ice cold. She wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. She vaguely remembered a lecture Mr. Sorola had given them on rocks and that they didn't give off or retain heat very well. That mines usually stayed a fairly constant temperature. She couldn't recall if the other surfaces had been this cold. All she could do was hope that meant she was close to the entrance.

About 20 minutes into her journey came the real struggle. The cavern split off into three different paths: one to the left, one to the right, and the one straight ahead of her. Meg let out an exasperated sigh. Not again. She decided to go with the left one first, since she had chosen right first previously. It wasn't exactly an efficient choosing method, but it would have to do for the time being.

The new left tunnel felt chilly. Her pace increased and her heart started to race all over again. "Don't get your hopes too high," she told herself. "You don't want to be let down again." She brushed her now tangled purple hair from her face and turned off her light once more. A few rays of moonlight shone into the darkness ahead of her. But true to her word she kept her expectations low. So when she almost stepped off of the small ledge and plummeted down the sheer cliffside, she was a bit stunned and frightened but not all that surprised.

"Great. Another curve ball from the universe." With her good foot she kicked a few pebbles from the ledge and watched them tumble out of sight. The ledge extended slightly along the wall to her right. She supposed if she really needed to she could try and traverse it to see if it wrapped around to a way to escape. But then again, she still had two other tunnels to explore. She couldn't make up her mind. Which tunnel should she take?

* * *

JEREMY: THE WOODS.

"Shit shit shit shit shit!" Jeremy's foot caught a rock that hand been hidden within the freshly fallen snow. He threw his hands out but they did little to soften the blow and he toppled onto his face. He had followed the footprints up to this point, and they hadn't failed him yet. His own feet however were failing him left and right. Jeremy could hear voices in the distance. There was a break in the trees ahead of him, had he finally done it? Was he safe?

The monster roared behind him, reminding him that he was not yet safe. "C'mon Lil J, just a bit further!" He grunted as he pushed himself up and began to run once more. His salvation was in reach now. So close he could almost taste it. And then there was a snap.

The snow had piled up on an already rotting tree branch. It was bound to give out. As luck would have it, it gave out right when Jeremy was beneath it. The branch struck his shoulders and upper back, the force of its fall enough to weigh him down. Normally he could shrug it off no problem. He was used to getting hit like this in football all the time. But the force had pushed his arms into the snow and he was having a bit of a struggle getting up and getting the branch off.

"No no no, come on!" He felt a cold, bony hand on his bare skin and he shrieked. How had it caught up to him so fast?! The pressure of the hand on his leg increased and kept increasing until there was a rush of pain accompanied by a terrible snapping noise. Jeremy screamed once more and it only seemed to spur the monster on. It hissed and more pain flooded his body as needle-like teeth burrowed in the flesh just above his knee. The branch tumbled down the slope of his back as the monster picked him up by the teeth and held him upside down. Jeremy grabbed at the branch and snagged it at the last second before it crashed to the forest floor.

Up close, he could count the ribs beneath the taught grey flesh and see each jut and slope where bones and tendons met. It's hands were disproportionate in size to the rest of its body, like softball gloves at the end of broom handles. It was also probably about 80 percent leg, which explained how it moved so fast. It shook him like a rag doll, terrible fangs digging deeper. It was like it was trying to severe the limb entirely. Jeremy was not about to let that happen. He twisted furiously, arms swinging the branch to and fro wildly. Luck was on his side and he smacked the thick end of the branch over the creature's head. It snapped to the side, but didn't let go.

Now with a much shorter branch he jabbed it into it's exposed stomach over and over again until finally it pierced the flesh and he snapped it off so half remained at least slightly embedded in the skin. It let out a yowl of pain, dropping its prey in the process. Jeremy also let out a pained yelp, but ignored it in favor of using what remained of the branch to haul himself to his feet and hobble towards the opening in the trees. His upper body was sore and he was a bit lightheaded from being held upside down and obviously he had almost lost a damn leg but he had to make it. He thought of his friends inside the lodge, of Mica and Matt and Kat all waiting for him to come home after the break and those thoughts made him work harder. Adrenaline coursed through him and he hobbled as quickly as he could. He was at the door know, and like he expected it was locked.

"LINDSAY! HEY LINDSAY LET ME IN!!" He smashed his hand against the glass, barely flinching when the other half of the branch sailed past his head and splintered on the side of the lodge. "LINDSAY COME ON COME ON!" There was a click and a creak and he felt a rush of warm air engulf him. He barely registered the door slamming shut and the lock clicking once more. Jeremy collapsed on the doormat and let out a heavy sigh. "Lil J, whatever you do, do not move." Lindsay whispered. "Huh?" He turned to the blonde. She was pressed against the wall beside the door frame with her muscles tense and her eyes wide. She was as still as a statue. The monster was peering through the glass window. He froze as well. 

It seemed like forever before the creature finally disappeared. They could hear the scratching of its claws on the siding and every so often it would still hiss and roar. It was still looking for a way in. Lindsay hauled him upstairs to the bathroom and did her best to help him. "Man those things have got a leg fetish or something. Though they did much worse on you than on Ray." Lindsay told him the story so far and how Ryan was back out there to locate the final two. "I would call him to let him know that you made it back, but he seemed pretty dead set on getting Meg and Gavin. Plus he left his phone here. And the service is shitty." She helped him into the room he had dumped his stuff in and laid him in the bed. Get some rest. Only about 2 or 3 more hours until dawn. Help will be here soon." She promised. 

Fatigue finally struck and Jeremy, despite his efforts not to, found himself drifting into sleep. 

Lindsay felt afraid. Both Ray and Jeremy were out of commission now. If they had to run from anything or leave the lodge at all she didn't think they would make it. She glanced at the clock on her phone. 4:03 AM. 3 more hours they had to endure this. 3 more hours of bloody monster hell. She remembered what Ryan had said about the torches and how wild animals didn't like fire. She added more wood to the fire and crafted a torch for herself. It was the least she could do. All she could do know was wait.

* * *

RYAN: THE WOODS

He retraced his steps back to the guest cabin and went from there. He tried to recall the old map he had seen on his phone. Dammit, why didn't he think to bring that with him? The entrance to the mines wasn't exactly hidden, but it probably wasn't going to be easy to find after all of these years. He could only hope that it hadn't caved in and trapped Meg inside. If she was still alive. 

It took him ages, but he finally found something. A gaping hole in the side on the mountain, shaped like a square and framed with rotting pieces of wood. There Mewas a broken piece of wood jutting out from the ground. It look like it was probably a sign at one point, but something had knocked it off. This was it. Can't get any mine-ier than this. 

There was a short drop a few feet into the mine. Ryan illuminated the area with his torch. Packed dirt formed the walls. There was a rusting railroad track that led down into another gaping hole. A minecart sat on the tracks. Ryan guessed that the tracks went into the mines at least a bit. He would follow them and then use his instinct from there. All he could do was hope nothing else was waiting for him down there. The way those monsters looked, he wouldn't be surprised if they were subterranean in any sense of the word. 

He tried to lower himself slowly and carefully but pain twinged in his shoulder and his arm buckled. Pain stung in his ass as it made contact with the rusty metal track. Luckily he managed to keep his torch from falling. Ryan ignored the irritating pain in his ass and pushed onward. He considered riding the minecart as far as he could but when he found at least three cases of dynamite in the cart he decided against it. Though he did take a few sticks for himself. Just in case.

He had walked a ways into the cave when he came across a cave in. Rocks and hard dirt blocked the only way into the mines. Turns out this was the just in case. He packed the sticks of dynamite into the dirt and lit each fuse with the flame of his torch before he packed away from the impending boom. It was quite a boom indeed. It shook the walls of the cavern and sent bits of debris flying in every direction. A large rock struck Ryan, but only a glancing blow on his shoulder. "Ryan the explosions guy." He muttered when the initial boom finally died down and all that was left were a few small fires and scattered shrapnel. Having said that he continued his search. 

His search from the point was rather fruitless. He did his best to stay positive. He thought of all the good times they had had together before tonight. He thought of a nearly two hour UNO game he had gotten out of early because of a babysitting gig, of the time Jeremy kicked a desk in half because someone told him he couldn't do it. All of the times they had gotten together in someone's cramped bedroom or living room and played video games together. How Meg called him "Dad" whenever she talked about the newest trends that he didn't understand. His friendship with Meg in general. They were best friends, so close many people often thought they were dating instead of Meg and Gavin. Some thought the three of them were all dating each other. He had to admit, he was probably closer to those two than some of their other friends. 

All the more reason to hurry and find them. 

Ryan remained focus on his task. He found the occasional scuff in the dirt. Some looked like footprints. Some looked like claw marks. Ryan placed his hand in the claw marks. They were so much bigger than his hand and people often told him his hands were bigger than normal. This was pretty telling of how much trouble there were really in. "Fuck." He muttered. His train of thought was interrupted by a sudden shriek. "Meg?!" He called out. He was met with another shriek. "MEG! TURNEY!" He raced towards the sound without hesitation. If there was even a chance that the voice was her, he had to find her. To save her. Ryan felt the rush of adrenaline in his veins as he raced through the tunnels. "MEG!!!"

* * *

 

MICHAEL AND GEOFF: THE BASEMENT

They collected their papers and began their journey back to the main floor of the lodge. They had both been sobered by the rotting heads and the details that surrounded them. "We tell Lindsay and Jeremy and then we... what? We wait until we can go home? Call someone? God, no one will believe us. And...." Michael took a deep breath. "What if my parents just try to cover it up again? What do we do then? What if they destroy the papers?" Geoff put a reassuring hand on Michael's shoulder. He couldn't promise the teen that everything would have a nice clean ending. That they would get the information out. The public might never know what really happened on the mountain in 1987. Parents would never get closure for their kids. Honestly there was nothing he could do. At all. "I dunno, Michael. I guess we just gotta hope."

There was a faint hissing from behind them. Geoff turned but saw nothing. "Did you..."

"Look at this. It says that even if you shoot them they won't die. It will stun them. The only thing that is shown to kill them is fire. Well fuck me. Hope we don't meet one any time soon." Geoff looked behind them. It was dark at the end of the tunnel. But he could see something glimmering within it. "Michael..." The curly haired boy didn't hear him. His nose was buried in the papers. Geoff could see his lips mouthing the words he was probably trying to memorize in case his parents really did destroy it. There was a scuttle. A couple more hisses. "Michael." 

"There is almost no chance of outrunning one. They have spidery limbs and can even latch onto cave walls. They are experts in the art of trapping and hunting their prey. Often known to mimic voices."

"Michael." A voice called. "What, Geoff?" Michael's head whipped around to look down the hallway. Geoff tapped his shoulder and he jumped. "Dude, I'm right here. I've been right here this whole time." Michael felt his guts twist. Just a trick of the mind. He read about the monsters mimicking voices and he thought he heard something do it. "What's wrong? Did you hear something?" Geoff turned his head as well. The glimmer seemed closer now. "Let's... let's get going, okay?" Geoff placed a hand on Michael's back and hurried him along. Both of them were thinking at a mile a minute. They were probably just paranoid, right? Nothing was behind them. No ghosts or ghouls or wendigos waiting to take them out from the shadows. There was another noise. Paranoid.

A scrape of something hard and rough against concrete.

Just paranoia.

A... giggle?

_Just. Paranoia._

The feeling of something following them.

**_Paranoia._ **

But when they heard the undeniable sound of claws against the concrete floor and a wretched roar they began to run. Paranoia or not they didn't want to take the chance and die without anyone knowing where they were. They came across the tiny opening where they had originally come through and Geoff shoved Michael through first. "Go go go! DAMMIT GO!" When Michael was halfway through he began to push himself through as well. He was halfway when claws jammed their way into the opening.

_Shit. It hadn't been paranoia_.

The grotesque features looked so much worse when they were trying to tear him apart from five feet away. Geoff felt a scream tear from his throat as something yanked him through the space and tugged him back through the basement. The real basement. Warm air and there were Michael's clothes. They zipped right past the pile. Past the trunk full of prop weapons and stage blood. There was a crash followed by a screech as they hit the stairs. "Go." Geoff repeated. He gave Michael a shove and grabbed a shovel from the stockpile of gardening tools that someone had conveniently placed right by the stairs. When the wendigo barreled towards them he swung with all his might and tore up the stairs after Michael.

The younger boy threw the door open, barely waiting for Geoff to follow him before he slammed it shut. "LINDSAY!!! JEREMY!!! WE GOTTA MOVE!" The blonde girl was sitting on the couch, her head bandaged and her hands bloody. "Michael? Geoff? What's-" There was a loud bang, and then another, and another. "It's coming up the stairs we gotta go!"

"But Ray-" A thud. Michael and Geoff bolted away from the door. They were all watching with wide eyes and pounding hearts. Geoff spoke first. "Where is Jeremy?"

"Upstairs, asleep. Ray is on the couch." Geoff's eyes were drawn to the couch. Indeed, Ray lay unmoving and silent. His leg was bandaged heavily as well. "What the hell happened to you guys?"

"You aren't the only ones having a bad night." Lindsay moved closer to the fire and grabbed a can of.... what the hell? Where did she get kerosene?! She grabbed the kerosene and splinters of wood that looked eerily similar to the kitchen cabinets. She thrust the ends of them into the fire and ignited them. "Alright! Take one of these and keep it away from Ray and keep them away from the stairs!" Michael and Geoff obeyed the order without a second thought.

_**THUD** _

_**THUD** _

_**BANG!!** _

Wood flew in various directions as the wendigo burst through the door. It screeched and climbed the wall in a spider-esque way. Michael raced for the stairs, waving his torch wildly. Geoff moved towards the back door and did the same. Lindsay stayed put. "HEY!" She screamed. The grey head whipped towards her and she could see its teeth gnash and even a bit of blood on them. "HEY HEY HEY!" She yelled again. The wendigo crawled towards her and screeched at her. "YO YO YO!" Michael hollered. It turned to look at him but before it could scurry over Geoff started belting out Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend while waving his torch around. Lindsay rushed away while it was distracted and headed towards the kitchen to grab more torch wood. 

The wendigo made a move to follow her but Michael threw a family photo and the edge of the frame caught it's bony shoulder. It hissed. Lindsay grabbed the wood and gave it the same treatment that Ryan had before he left. There was still over half a tank of kerosene. Lindsay was forming a plan. She just hoped that Michael and Geoff could distract it for that long. 

They were doing one hell of a good job right now. Geoff had run from the back door to the basement and then to the front and then the fireplace. Michael was dancing madly on the stairs. Every time it came too close they would wave the fire or the other would get it's attention in any way they could. Lindsay raced back in and motioned for them to keep going. Keep the beast off of her for now. Michael nodded and kept up his end of the deal. 

The plan was going perfectly. Lindsay peered outside. She couldn't see Ryan anywhere in the distance so she figured he was still looking for Meg and Gavin. Perfect. "Hey! Hey hey hey!" She hollered. The wendigo turned to her.

And so did Ray. 

Lindsay's eyes went wide. "Why is everyone yelling?" He mumbled. Michael and Geoff looked over at him as well. It seemed to happen in slow motion. All of them starting yelling at Ray to stop what he was doing and to stop moving for the LOVE OF GOD. Ray didn't seem to process. The wendigo did. It noticed that Ray lacked something that all the others had. Ray didn't have a torch. It almost seemed to smile as it made a beeline for the defenseless boy. "NO!" Lindsay hollered and Geoff raced after it with his torch swinging. Michael jumped down from the stairs and threw the throw pillows at it. "Look at me! Over here! Look over here!" Geoff called. The wendigo ignored them and climbed onto the couch. He placed a heavy hand on his chest and screeched directly in his face. "RAY! NO, RAY!" Lindsay threw out her hand just as the air was filled with the sound of sickening rips.

Blood welled over Ray's lips and dripped onto his purple hoodie. Brown eyes were wide with shock but he couldn't make a sound. Lindsay let out a scream. Anger and sadness mixed into one piercing scream as Ray's head severed from his neck and rolled to the floor with a wet thud that everyone knew would haunt their minds forever. Geoff thrust his torch into the wendigos back and Michael did the same. Hot tears were rolling down Lindsay's cheeks as she approached the monster. There was no turning back now. Not for anything. "Merry Christmas, you son of a bitch!" She channeled the emotions broiling inside her and hurled the kerosene onto the wendigos flesh. The flames from their torches crawled up its dosed flesh and it roared and screeched and hissed horridly. It took all of her remaining strength and help from the boys to hurl the burning creature out into the night.

They watched with bloodshot eyes as the monster was burnt to a crisp mere feet from the front door. Lindsay wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. "Come on. There's at least one more of those out there too. I can't let his-" she took a deep breath "I won't let this be for nothing." Michael and Geoff couldn't say anything. They avoided looking at Lindsay as she placed the head with its body and covered it with a spare throw blanket. She had a point. They had to prepare for another attack. They couldn't let another friend die tonight.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!
> 
> http://ask-cosplayukraine-please.tumblr.com/image/154603102520
> 
> Link to the picture in case it's not showing up


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The horror is far from over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas you filthy animals  
> So i'm going to try and update on Fridays from now on.

THE LODGE

Geoff was cleaning up the mess downstairs while Lindsay and Michael retreated to the second floor. They had offered to help but he insisted. "I just need some time alone, okay? Just go relax while you can." They didn't want to argue with him. Not after what had happened. So they listened and left. Michael questioned her bandages. "I fell off of a chair and hit my head on the floor. Nothing too bad." He smoothed her hair out and gently brushed his fingers across the rough material that wrapped her head tight. Then he leaned forward and placed a gentle peck to it. And another. Soon he was peppering her hair, head, and face with sweet little kisses. Each one tickled her skin. Lindsay giggled as she swatted at her boyfriend. "Michael, quit it! That tickles!" The kisses increased. So did the volume of her laughter. "Michael! Seriously, stop it! We have to keep it down, Jeremy is-" Oh fuck.

Jeremy. 

Michael's onslaught of kisses ceased. "What about him? Is he okay?" Lindsay sighed heavily. He deserved to know. There was no point in keeping the truth from him. "After you and Geoff left I got bored and hungry and I tried to make a snack but I fell and Jeremy came down to help me. He called for help and they must have told him the best way to cure a plate to the face was to not let me do anything. So I got bored and I pranked him. I tricked him into running outside in just his underwear." Michael held in a snort at that.

"But then he didn't come back forever and I started to worry. I was basically pacing the floor. Then I heard someone knocking and shouting for help. I assumed Jeremy saw a bear or a wolf and got spooked so I went to unlock it. It was Ryan! And he had Ray on his back and Ryan's hands were bloody and they just looked so scared, you know? I don't think I've ever seen Ryan look that scared." Lindsay began to quiver a bit from the memory. "I let them in. No, I pulled them in. They yelled at me to lock the door and when I did one of those things- a wendigo- smashed against the door. I fell flat on my ass, I was so scared. We just laid there, waiting for it to go away. It kept banging on the door and screaming like it wanted us to show ourselves." Michael remembered reading that they didn't see that well. That they could see heat, but only if it was moving. If not they were almost completely blind.

"After it left Ryan started.... he started crying. Just a little, but I could tell. I think he was hurt, too. But Ray had it worse. He was bleeding all over the floor. There was this huge gash in his leg. We fixed it up as best as we could. Ryan told me he found him like that. That one of the wendigos-" the word felt awful in her mouth "-scratched his leg. Ray told us that Gavin had ran off and he had heard a scream but he hadn't seen him for a long time. Ryan said.... Ryan said that Meg fell. She just fell into a sinkhole and that she was gone. He went back out to look for the two of them and Jeremy but Jeremy got back before he did. His leg was all broken and there were teeth marks in it. I... I didn't tell him but I think they might have to amputate it. It's really bad."

Michael was speechless. His skin was as white as a sheet. "Is that it?" Lindsay nodded. "He told me that he would bring Meg and Gavin back and to keep an eye out for him. And....." She hesitated. "He kissed-"

"Did he kiss you?! Because I will slaughter him, I swear to God!"

"No! He kissed Ray! He finally got the courage to act on his feelings and now-" She could feel herself tearing up and wiped at them furiously. "Now Ray is gone. God for all we know they're all gone! Gavin, Meg, and maybe even Ryan."

"Or maybe... Ryan is the reason they're gone?" Lindsay gasped and slapped Michael's shoulder. How could he say that? He didn't actually believe that, could he? Ryan would never... Okay Ryan was admittedly a bit strange. He had told them about an instance when we was a kid where he lured a neighborhood cat into a hole and trapped it there for about a week. He had fed it and kept it alive but the fact that he trapped an animal in a hole just for fun was a bit creepy. But that was years ago. And not a human being. Ryan would never hurt another person, especially not his friends. Right? 

"I can't believe you. Why would you say something like that?" 

"I have a point! I mean, he just so happens to find Ray like that? After Gavin conveniently vanishes? And Meg too? C'mon, doesn't that sound like some horror movie shit?!" She jumped to her feet. "You're one to talk! We had a fucking seance, Michael! Maybe this is all actual our fault! We probably disturbed the wendigo spirits and now we're paying for it with blood! The only ones who aren't hurt are you and Geoff! Which is weird because you were the only two who were there with me!"

Michael's mind was racing. She had a point. Wendigos had once been human, and they had to have eaten someone to become the way they were now. The spirits of the ones who were eaten awaken and vengeful. Making sure that Michael and his friends felt the pain they had once felt in one way or another. 

Kind of a dick move.

* * *

MEG: THE MINES

Meg had been smart about it and chosen to head back inside. The ledge she was standing on was far too dangerous for her to even try to walk and she doubted it would have led anywhere good. She would have been stupid to try it. So she decided to explore the tunnel to the right. It was just like all the other ones. Dark and cramped, smelled musty and almost of old blood. She was getting used to that smell. She could only mentally prepare herself for whatever she found at the end of this tunnel.

She was not as prepared as she thought.

Against her will she let out a short scream at the sight she found. A cave in, blocking the whole tunnel. Pinned beneath was another body. This one had a severely damaged skull, most likely the cause of death. Bits of bone and tattered cloth were scattered around the cave. There were bloody claw lines from wall to wall, even on the ceiling. Of course those things were behind this. Did they lure the poor soul down here? Had they trapped him in a handmade cave in and then ate him bit by bit? She resisted all of her urges to run and investigated further. When she moved some rocks she found similarly styled clothing to the first skeleton. They might have been friends, or a part of the same group. His clothing was splattered with much more blood than the other one had been, telling her that the death had been more brutal and sudden.

Well, they had both been pretty fucking brutal. There was no denying that.

It didn't look like the head had been crushed by stepping or pushing on it, but like it had been bashed in with a rock or a really big, really strong fist. Of course, a lot of the rocks were stained with blood. Meg tried to move more of the rocks, but they were too heavy to move with one hand. There was no way to tell if it had suffered trauma to any other part of the body. The claw marks surrounding the body looked faded and ancient. The monsters hadn't been down this tunnel in a long time. She wondered why. They were definitely strong enough to move the rocks aside and get through, so maybe that wasn't the issue. Meg pondered for a moment if they were remorseful. That maybe, just maybe, they regretted killing and eating the teen. But that just didn't make any sense. Unless there was more that she wasn't seeing yet.

When she had examined every possible thing, she reluctantly left the scene. There was nothing more she could do there, no more evidence to help find out who or what killed the poor people she had found. All she could do was hope there weren't anymore to find. With all that said and done she supposed the only other option was to continue straight ahead. She was starting to feel fatigued again, and the soreness in her bones was nagging for her to stop awhile. But she knew she couldn't. She had to get back home. And judging by how long those remains had been down here, home would not wait for her.

She limped through the tunnel, ears and eyes ready for signs of anything. At all. Countless hours of being trapped down here had taught her that literally anything could happen. Bodies, monsters, ledges that would drop you off the side of the mountain. It was like when God created the mountain and the mines he threw a dart at a board for every twist he could throw at unsuspecting victims. It had grown a bit tedious, honestly.

About halfway through the tunnel, her head lamp flickered and fizzled out. Meg wanted to scream. But for the first time tonight, the scream was one of frustration instead of terror. She squinted into the darkness, managing to make out a basic outline of the path in front of her. "God sure is having a good game of darts tonight..." Her good hand patted the wall as she walked, pace much slower now. At least she still had her glasses. Those hadn't broken too badly during her fall, only a hairline crack over the left eye. The real miracle was that she hadn't gotten any glass in her eye. She was pretty glad to just have drying blood on her face. God, she was kind of glad she hadn't seen anyone for hours now, she probably looked like absolute shit. Dirty, bloody, and tired. Half a pair of pants and a flimsy homemade sling that shouldn't have lasted her this long. Not to mention her hair...

She was snapped out of her worrying by a groan. It didn't sound like anything the monsters had made so far, but that didn't drop her guard. She tried to keep her scuffling to a minimum as she inched forward. Another groan. It sounded like something in pain. No, not something. Someone. Another person? But this was private land, which meant that the only other people here were her friends. Logically, she concluded that the sound was one of her friends in an immense amount of pain. They were probably scared and thought they were all alone, just like she had been. She couldn't just leave them and let them suffer.

Once more she found herself running as best as she could towards the sound. She wondered who it was, how long they had been down here. How bad their injuries were. As she ran she managed to narrow it down. Four of them had gone outside. Assuming they hadn't went back to the main lodge, there were only three other people who could be down here with her: Ray, Ryan and Gavin. 

Oh God, what if it was Ryan?

What if it was Gavin?

What if it wasn't any of them?

All of these possibilities swarmed her head, but she had to remain calm, for whoever was unfortunate enough to be down here with her. 

Once again, she was not as prepared as she thought she was. 

* * *

 

THE MINES: 1987

Weeks passed. They hadn't even heard one search party call for them. Matt had lost all hope. Tina.... Tina had changed. When he had originally proposed the idea that they eat James' corpse to survive, she had been reluctant. He told her that there was only three options and that was the least gruesome. Besides death, of course. And neither of them wanted to die.

As the weeks went by, Tina's reluctance had transformed. While they had both eaten it, she had the more vicious appetite between the two of them. They had nearly picked the corpse clean. But that didn't stop her. There was little natural light down here, but he swore that she looked different. Her skin seemed paler, and she was thinner. But that could be from the lack of nutrients in her diet and sunlight. But he couldn't seem to find a logical explanation for her teeth. They looked sharper and bigger every time he saw them. Not that Matt saw them often. She had stopped talking to him awhile ago. These days she hardly looked at him. Sometimes when he would wake up from the little sleep he got, he would find her staring at him. Where her eyes always that pale?

Sleep was a luxury down here. He wasn't really surprised that he hadn't seen Tina sleep in a while, he just assumed she slept when he did. But he only got about 8 hours per week, and he felt fatigued whenever he was awake. She never seemed fazed by the fact that she was getting little to no sleep even though as a human being she needed it or she would die. He wondered if she was losing her mind. God, he wondered if he had lost his.

Late one night, he awoke from a sleep he didn't remember falling into. He also didn't remember being on this side of the ravine. He looked down at the snow and saw a track, indicating that he had been dragged over here. "Tina, what did you-" His thoughts were cut off by a twang of pain. His back hurt again, even though it hadn't hurt for a couple weeks now. He supposed the sudden movement had caused it to spawn. He groaned and attempted to sit up straight, only to find a weight on his chest holding him down. Matt looked up and locked eyes with Tina.

Her blood stained mouth seemed wider, and it hung open so he could see the grizzly sight inside it. Bits of flesh still clung to her teeth, and he could smell it rotting in there. Her nails dug into his chest through his ski jacket. He glanced down at her hand. Her nails were abnormally long. He knew she had a tendency to chew her nails when she was nervous, so logically they should be nothing more than stubs right now. But they were long and dark brown from the blood and they seemed thick, like claws.

"Tina?" His query came out as a quiet squeak. She didn't acknowledge him. She leaned forward and the view and smell of her mouth was even stronger. He struggled to get out of her grip, only to feel the pressure on his chest increase. She hissed at him, the first noise she had uttered in weeks. He had never heard her make a noise like that down before. He tried to struggle but she was so much stronger than he remembered. "Tina if this is about your leg, I'm sorry! We had to amputate, there was no other way!" Once again she didn't acknowledge him or his pleas. 

In a split second those horrid teeth were on Matt's neck and he could hear his own flesh tear and his blood splatter against the cold ground before he felt the pain. It was short, Tina's bite had managed to tear each major artery and he was losing blood quicker than he ever thought possible. Tina barely waited for his body to turn cold before she starting digging into the new meal. 

Matt's spirit awoke in the lodge. It was swarmed with authorities from local police to the national level. They were looking for him. He opened his mouth to speak but a fresh gush of blood came out instead. He lifted a hand to feel at the gaping wound in his neck. Of course, even in death he would have to suffer through his ungodly injuries. Besides, none of the numerous people in the lodge seemed to even notice he was there. 

It was going to be a long eternity. 

* * *

 GAVIN

There was nothing but pain. In the back of his head, from the waist down. Pain pain pain. His chest.... he didn't want to think about that. It was a miracle that he hadn't bled out from the gashes hours ago. He couldn't do anything except bear the pain and hope someone heard him. He groaned and moaned, waiting for help to come. He was lucky to have been unconscious up until now. If he hadn't been who knows how much pain he would have been in if he had been awake during the initial fall. 

He had his his head on the way down. Not too hard, but enough to knock him out. He was probably bleeding from there as well. How much blood could the average human even lose? Less than this, for sure. People always told him he was a whole other species, he supposed if that meant he got to live after bullshit like this than it was fine with him. As long as he got out of here.

Both of his legs were broken, or at the very least damaged. There was no way for him to sit up, let alone move himself up the cliff he had fallen down to safety. He hoped Ray was okay. He might have bled out like he should have. Or that thing found him and ate him up like it had probably wanted to do to him. There was no telling. All he could do is hope that someone heard him. Maybe Ryan and Meg were still out there looking. Although, he wasn't sure he wanted that. Jesus all of his thoughts were so conflicting. But that was all he could do. Call for help, and think. 

He called his throat hoarse for nearly an hour. He could really only move his head. There was little to see. Dull walls, snowy floor. Boring. Just like his inevitable fate would be. Boring and slow and terrible. He was sure of it. Then he heard the approaching steps. Something running towards him. It must have heard his groaning. Grim thoughts turned hopeful. Somebody had come after him. That could mean that somebody came for Ray too, and he told them where he was. Of course, how would Ray have known where he was?

Anxiety bubbled in his gut as the steps came closer. Though it hurt his throat to scream he did so. "HEY! HEY OVER HERE!" 

"Gavin?!" A voice called. That sweet voice he loved so much. Not again. He didn't want to let himself be fooled by the monster again. It couldn't be Meg, could it? But there she was, coming out of the cave opening to his left. She looked awful, with blood on her face and clothes and her outfit that she had spent so long picking out before Michael came to pick them up. The outfit itself was torn to bits. He didn't know if the monster could make him see things, and honestly he didn't care. If he was going to die then he'd rather have the last thing he see be his beautiful girlfriend. She rushed over to him and dropped down beside him. Her hand ran over his face, like she was making sure he was real.

"Meg..? Is it really you?" His voice is hoarse and she has to lean in close to hear him, but she does. A tear slips down her cheek. "It's really me, baby. It's me. And it's you." She presses their foreheads together and nuzzles him gently. He can feel the cool wetness of her tears on his skin. He can also feel the rough material of her makeshift sling, made from her torn pants. "What happened to you, Turney?"

"I could ask the same of you! Gav, baby, what the hell happened to you? My god, how long have you been here?" Gavin groaned softly. "I don't know. I think I might be dying, Turney. But I'm glad I get to see you before I do."

"No, Gavin. You're gonna make it!" She gently shifts and pulls his head into her lap. Gavin can see the dirt smudged all across her face. He couldn't even imagine the kinds of things she had been through. And she was awake the whole time. "I'm going to get someone to help you!" She reaches and lifts his shirt to look at the gashes a bit closer. He sees her face contort with concern. "I'll have to hurry. I'm so glad you survived this long, but you'll have to hold on a bit longer baby. I'll be back as soon as I can." She smooths his shirt out, careful not to brush over the wounds. Then she leans in and kisses him softly.

"You aren't kissing me goodbye, are you?"

"No no, not goodbye." She kisses him again. "It's an 'I'll-see-you-later' kiss. Me and the help I'm gonna find you." She lays his head back on the ground, kissed him one last time, and pulled herself back to her feet. "I love you, Gavin. I'll see you later." He listened to her run away and felt the fatigue come back over him once more. He let himself fall back into slumber with the hope that she would return soon.

* * *

 

RYAN: THE MINES

He was hopelessly lost. Of course he was, it was nearly impossible not to be in an abandoned mine from the 50's. The close space was also affecting him. He had always had a problem with them. He could have sworn he was hearing things. Voices, telling him they were here. That he should come to them. Some of them sounded like Meg and Ray. A few sounded like people he had never met before. He thought that one of them sounded just like Geoff. His fingers were twitching around the torch, which had burned so close that he could feel the heat against his skin. He felt like he was going crazy.

The area he had found himself was full of winding tunnels. On top of the voices he could hear footsteps coming towards him. Past experiences tonight had taught him not to let his guard down. There was a chance that the noises were Meg but there was an equally likely chance that it was another monster. He felt his pocket for the stick of dynamite. It was still there. Good.

One of the support beams had long slashes in the wood. He made a mental note not to go down that tunnel. Ryan was about to turn away when he heard the voice calling. It didn't sound like the other voices, this one sounded genuine. "Heey? Heeeey, is anyone out here?!" The footfalls were a bit uneven, like whatever was coming towards him was limping. He shoved his hand into his pocket and wrapped his hand around the dynamite. His head swiveled to the other tunnels as another shuffling sound emitted from the darkness. _Fuck. FUCK._

He could light the stick right now and blow all three of them sky high. Sure he would die, but so would whatever was coming for him. But if he died no one would be able to help Meg. His grip on the dynamite loosened. He would just have to wait this out. "Hey hey! I need some help here!" It sounded like Meg. He wondered if it was just a plow to make him hurt. To get his hopes up and then destroy them. It could work, too.

The noises in the other tunnels were drawing closer as well. Ryan backed away from both entrances. If it was two monsters, maybe they would run into each other and pull a cartoon move and knock each other out. How great would that be? Pretty damn great. Unlikely, but great. He wasn't prepared for what came out of the first cave.

Meg Turney in all her glory, eyes frantic, looking like she had personally fought the devil with just her perfectly manicured hands to escape Hell. She looked around, somehow missing Ryan hiding in the shadows, and rushed into another tunnel. He tried to call for her but she didn't hear him. He had no choice but to follow her.

"Meg! MEG!" His feet kept stumbling over rocks and other bits of debris as he followed her. For someone moving with a limp and a broken arm she went fairly fast. He was almost upon her now, free hand reaching out to grab her. He laid his large hand on her good shoulder and pulled them to a stop. Naturally, she panicked. Meg shrieked and shoved the hand away, turning to fight whatever dared stop her quest. "Meg!" He replaced his hand on her shoulder to try and shake her back into reality. She raised her hand and pushed against his face. "Meg Turney!" He ignored her protest and wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Finally she seemed to snap out of it. "R-Rye?" 

"Took you long enough." She pushed herself out of his arms. "You're here, you're real! You have to help me."

"That's why I'm here." He grabs her arm and starts to lead her back the way he came in. "We have to get back to the lodge." She stayed planted in one place. "No! We can't There are monsters out there! Plus I need your help! It's-It's Gavin!" She uprooted herself and led Ryan back to her tunnel. "He's hurt bad, Rye. We have to help him!"

"How can we help him?" She stops. "We... we'll take him back to the lodge and-"

"Meg I can't carry Gavin. You can't either, not in your condition. The best thing to do is go back and get the others to come help us." She looked confused, but knew that he was right. Her arm was broken and honestly she was getting tired, too. The two of them alone wouldn't be able to help Gavin. They needed more help. "You're right. Let's go." He wraps an arm around her and leads her towards the entrance. It felt amazing to have her with him again. To know that she was alive and that she had literally survived the Hell that had contained her all on her own. It was less amazing to know that the Hell had swallowed Gavin as well. But he had at least half of what he had come for. All that was left was to get her out of here and back to the safety of lodge. 

He could still hear the voices. He looked to Meg to see if she was hearing them too. But she seemed so determined to get help for her injured boyfriend that her face gave no sign of his mental stability. His hands started to shake once again. They reached a large clearing in the cave, and the voices started growing louder and louder. "M-Meg?" Why was his voice shaking? Why was he shaking? "Meg do you-" 

"Meeeeg?" Gavin's voice floated out of the tunnel. There was no mistaking it. He had heard the accented whine plenty of times. "Meeeg where are yoooou?" 

"Gavin?" She whispered. Her face told him everything. There was no way for the Brit to be up and walking. There was no way that was him in the tunnels coming towards them. It also confirmed that he wasn't crazy. At least, not entirely. "Meg we should go." Meg wouldn't budge. Ryan looked her up and down. She was doubtful, but a part of her hoped it was him. He grabbed her hand and tried to pull her away from the tunnel but she wouldn't budge. "Gav?"

"Meg, are you crazy?! Let's go!" She wrenched her hand free and drew closer to the entrance. "Gavin?" Ryan held his torch to the darkness and recoiled at what he saw. He recognized the gleam of those sickly white eyes. "Meg we have to go." She didn't listen. The light on the helmet she was wearing flickered and she reached up to tap it. Suddenly light flooded the tunnel ahead of them. 

_Surprise surprise._

A monster loomed over them, jaws gaping and ready to snap. It shrieked and brought a heavy hand down to crush Meg. Ryan's hand shot forward and yanked her out of the way at the last second. "Move it!" The monster climbed from the tunnel onto the tall ceiling and hissed down at them. Ryan felt for the dynamite in his pocket. Still there.

"Head for the tunnels!" He shouted. Meg hesitated. She had probably never seen one of these before. The light on her headlamp flicked across the ceiling as she tracked its movements with her eyes. "MEG!" She snapped out of it and turned to him. He squinted from the sudden bright light directly in his eyes. But even through the haze he could see fear in her eyes. "Move for the tunnels!" He ran towards her, torch blazing. She finally got the message and started for the tunnels. The creature lunged down from the ceiling and landed directly between the two of them. Ryan let out a frustrated scream. This caught Meg's attention, who stopped and turned to make sure that he was okay.

That had to be the worst mistake she had made so far tonight. The creature's ghastly arm shot out and latched it's claws onto the material of her coat. It lifted her from the ground, her booted feet kicking uselessly in the air. Just as quickly as it had picked her up it threw her down. _Hard._

Ryan tried to intervene, but with a powerful side sweep from the creature he was flying through the air. His back hit the cave wall hard. His shoulder seared with pain once more. He hissed as he clutched his injured appendage, pulling himself to his feet.

The creature had picked Meg up once more and slammed her against the far all on the opposite side of the cave. He heard her scream with pain. The makeshift sling had been torn from her and discarded. Ryan wondered if it had done that on purpose. The monster slammed her into the wall once, twice, three times, her screams filling the cavern each time. "Stop it!" He cried. The beast did not stop. Over and over again it battered Meg against the wall and the floor. Her cuts had reopened. Every time he tried to help her he would get batted aside like a doll.

Finally the beast picked up her broken form and smashed it down onto a stalagmite. It's aim must have been off, since the formation pierced her shoulder and upper left chest. But Ryan knew there was a very large chance that she would die from that. She let out pained screams and sobs. Something inside Ryan snapped. "HEY FUCKER!" The monster finally stalked over to him, satisfied with the state of its first victim. Ryan knew he had to act fast.

With shaking hands he reached into his pocket at retrieved the stick of dynamite. "OVER HERE!" He charged the beast head on, lighting the fuse as he charged. He ducked under a set of swiping claws and jumped at the monster. The monster opened it's mouth and let out a horrid shriek. Perfect opening for Ryan to shove the dynamite into. He rolled as he hit the ground and rushed to Meg's side. He threw himself over her as a shield. The dynamite's fuse disappeared and with a fiery **BOOM** the cavern shook. When he looked once more, the beast was nothing more than charred remains, burning from the inside out. 

Meg's screams had died down to pitiful whimpers. But she was still alive. For now. He gently grabbed her face and brushed the hair out of her eyes. Her helmet had flown off somewhere and he could see a deep gash on the back of her head from the beating. "Turney, hold on. I'm gonna try and get you out of here." His words were empty. They both knew there was nothing they could do for her now. She was a goner from the moment she turned to help him. "No, Ryan. You've done more than enough. You killed that thing." He wiped at the bit of blood pooling on her lips and the tears forming on both of them. "You have to go back to the lodge, like we planned. We can still save Gavin."

"I can't just leave you here."

"I saw you hurt your shoulder, Rye. I don't think it will be safe for you to carry me, either. There are still more of them out there. Just go and save everyone else." His hands were shaking again. She lifted her good hand (which now had several large bruises on it) and placed it on top of his. "I don't want to leave you, Meg."

"I know. I don't want you to leave me either. But you have to. Get the others, find Gavin." She laughs. Well, she tries to laugh as well as she can in her condition. "Tell Ray how you feel, you big baby. Do it for me, okay?"

"I already kissed him. Beat you to it."

"Go Dad, work it old man." She coughs, her blood splattering against the cold ground. "You're my best friend, Ryan Haywood."

"You're my best friend, too, Meg." He cries and holds her until he's sure she's gone.

* * *

The walk to the lodge was relatively peaceful. The snow had stopped falling, and nothing disturbed his trek. No wildlife, no monsters. Nothing.  For the first time all night it was quiet. Ryan hated it. 

The lights were on in the lodge when he arrived. That gave him a bit of hope. He made sure the area was 100 % clear before knocking on the door. To his surprise, Geoff answered. "Ryan! God, you look like shit." The older teen ushered him inside and locked the door behind him. The lodge looked so much different. His chaotic mess of broken wood and kerosene had been cleaned up, all of the pictures and throw pillows were in different places. Like they had spent the time that he was gone playing "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". 

Geoff led Ryan into the kitchen and poured him a drink. "You'll need this." Geoff sat him down at the table, which had also been cleaned off. Lindsay had told him about the prank Michael and Geoff had played on her earlier that night. Maybe she was making them tidy up the place as punishment. "Jeremy came back a little while ago, so you don't have to worry about going to find him anymore. Michael and Lindsay went upstairs to chill out for a bit." He paused to take a long sip of his own drink. "Where are Meg and Gavin."

Ryan's heart wanted to stop and leap out of his chest at the same time. "Meg and I.... we ran into this monster thing. It's humanoid but it's all grey and super fucking strong-"

"Wendigos." Geoff corrected him. He would have to show Ryan the papers later. Ryan gave him a confused look and Geoff urged him to continue. "Meg and I ran into one of those things and it....." A deep sigh. "It killed her." His voice came out as a shallow whisper. Silence hung over them and for a moment Ryan thought maybe he didn't hear him. But when he looked up he saw a sight he'd never thought he'd see. Geoff had a tear rolling down his cheek. "No fucking shit..." he muttered. "What about Gavin?" 

"Meg said she saw him. That he had gotten really hurt and we needed to go and get him. And since she was stuck in the mines all night, that's where he is too." Geoff downed his drink and set the glass down a bit too forcefully. "I don't think we can do that. Not with another one of those monsters out there." How many of them were there? 5? 11? There was definitely more than 2 and that was honestly one too many. "We'll let the paramedics know when they get here in two hours. Then after they take care of Jeremy and Lindsay we can have them send a search team down into the mines for Meg's body and Gavin." Ryan nodded. He told Geoff that he would have brought her back but he had damaged his shoulder in the fight. "It's fine, Ryan. You did what you could and nothing more." Neither of them really believed that. Then Ryan asked the inevitable. Geoff knew it would come but he hoped and prayed it wouldn't. 

"Where's Ray?"

"What?"

"You mentioned that they would help Jeremy and Lindsay. Ray got hurt too. Where is he? Did you move him upstairs, too?"

Geoff inhaled deeply. Steeling himself. "Ryan, I'm so sorry. Ray's dead." 

* * *

 

JULY 4TH

Fireworks boomed and filled the starry sky all around them. Michael, Gavin, Lindsay, and Meg whooped and cheered at the pyrotechnics, courtesy of Jack and Geoff. Mica and Jeremy were setting up the next ones they would fire off into the night sky. Ryan and Ray lay side by side in the grassy field. It had been Mica's idea. Drive out to the middle of nowhere, where they could get drunk and light off fireworks and be as loud as they wanted to celebrate this patriotic holiday. The teens happily agreed.

Ray had forced Ryan to remove his jacket and ball it up so they could use it as a pillow. Ironically, he kept his own hoodie on. The grass tickled his bare arms and itched irritatingly but he tried to ignore it.  Ryan looked over at the Puerto Rican. The multicolored lights danced on his tanned skin and in the lenses of his glasses. He was smiling a wry smile. Ryan knew that he would have preferred to stay in tonight, but he was glad that he had come.

"Y'know, I've been thinking." Ray starts. "Uh oh."

"Shut up, you dork." Ray socks him playfully but his demeanor turns serious once more. "I've been thinking. If I had to date a dude, I think I'd date you." Ryan doesn't know what to say. He can't blame the alcohol because he knows that neither of them have drank any. They had agreed to be designated drivers for their friends that night. "Sorry, that was weird to say."

"No no, it's cool. I think that if I dated a guy, I'd want to date you too." He doesn't know why he said that. He's mentally kicking himself for saying it. It's not that it's not true, he just never thought Ray was really into guys. Honestly it was rare for Ray to show much romantic interest in anyone. He had a few relationships, including an on-off one with a really sweet girl from school. Ryan couldn't recall her name.

"Cool." Ray is still smiling. He turns back to the spectacle in the sky. Ryan looks over at their friends. Meg is looking at him. She has her arm looped with Gavin's, who is talking excitedly with Michael about something. Meg glances at Ray, then back to Ryan. She wiggles her eyebrows. Ryan sticks his tongue out at her. She returns the favor and turns back to the conversation before her. She lays her head on Gavin's shoulder.

Mica hands everyone a fresh drink and pulls out a lighter. "TIME FOR THE BIG FINALE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!" She calls as she lights the fuze on three of those big boxed fireworks. The show only lasts for a few minutes, but it seems to go on for hours. Ryan looks over at Ray once more. He's looking at him. He hopes that neither of them forget tonight's conversation. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Cannibal" by Ke$ha came on while I was writing this and I think that's lovely.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was only the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there i was last thursday, almost done with the chapter and my laptop said "hey watch this!" and then crashed
> 
> BUT I would like to thank all of you for reading this! I worked really hard on this for such a long time and to see so many people love this and want to continue to read it makes my heart warm~ This will most likely be the last chapter, unless I feel like I need another chapter to wrap it up. I will be working on my RWBY oc story and I am planning another multi chapter story but it's still in the framing process.  
> Anyways, thank you all so much, I hope that this will continue to hold a place in people's heart even after it's over.

"Lil J, wake up." Geoff shook the green haired teen awake. "We're having a meeting downstairs." Geoff had reluctantly went back into the basement to retrieve a pair of crutches for Jeremy. They were clearly  just props, but they would have to do for now. It was nearly 5:30 in the morning when he finally hobbled down the stairs into the living room. The first thing he noticed was how the atmosphere had drastically changed. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace, but the air still felt cold. Only four of his friends were gathered around the coffee table. He wondered where the other three were. Gavin Meg, Ray, and Ryan had all gone out to the guest cabin, so it was possible they were there. But Ryan was sitting with the others looking just as somber. 

Lindsay waved him over and Michael scooted down a bit, making room for Jeremy on the smaller couch. He was wearing a skimpy nurse outfit for some reason. Lil J opened his mouth to ask why when suddenly the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted. Geoff stood in front of the fireplace. The low light from the flames lit him from behind, creating a sort of ethereal halo around him. He looked powerful, like he was made to be in charge of business-y meetings like this. "Alright. I know it's been one hell of a bad night for everyone. And, luckily, it's almost over. The paramedics that Jeremy called for should be here within less than an hour and a half. Unlucky for us, there's still a lot of shit we have to get done before we can leave."

Geoff grabbed the messy stack of papers from the coffee table in front of him. He hands half of the papers to Michael, who rose to his feet and began distributing the papers among the five of them. Jeremy studied his, expecting to see some sort of plan written out. Instead, he was met with a crude drawing of the creature that had broken his leg. "Where did you get these?" Jeremy questioned as he leafed through the papers in his possession. "We found them in the basement." Michael explains. "Well, a side room off of a tunnel that leads into the basement. It's a long story." Normally, Jeremy would ask for it anyways. But he knew they were on a time crunch. 

The information explained that the creatures were called wendigos. They were created when someone becomes desperate enough and lets the wendigo spirit possess them and eat their comrades. Mimicking voices, super speed and strength.They were nearly invincible, only vulnerable to fire. There was an extra part written in Geoff's scrawl on how dynamite worked just as well. Another long story, he was sure. "So the plan is this. Even though this is the absolute last time we're ever coming up here for the rest of our lives, we don't know about other people. Let's spare them the hell nights and get this problem out of the way once and for all. While there are some varying numbers, we've managed to narrow the final number of wendigos down to four. There were more in the past, but we think that some of them perished in the fires that destroyed the sanitorium and the old lodge. Plus we've already killed two tonight."

That probably explained the dynamite annotation. "The plan is to have Michael and Jeremy clear out the lodge. I'll open my truck and you can just leave the stuff in there. Lindsay, Ryan, and I will go out and try to draw the remaining four back here. Then, we torch the place with the fuckers inside." Geoff held up a final paper, one he might have drawn himself. It showed five stick figures standing outside a huge fire with four screaming faces inside. "When the paramedics arrive we get you three-" he points to Lindsay, then Ryan, then Jeremy "-into an ambulance or helicopter or whatever. Then we can tell them where to find Gavin and Meg. Hopefully they can get there in time."

Suddenly it hits Jeremy. He had noticed it, that they weren't there. But it was just sinking in now. "Hey, now that you mention it...where are Gavin and Meg? Are they not at the guest cabin?" A thick silence fills the air. They seem to play a mental game of Nose Goes. Ryan seemed to lose this game. He sighed. "The mines. There are mines running underneath the mountain and Gavin is trapped down there."

"What about Meg? A-And Ray?" Another mental tug-o-war. This time Geoff was the loser. "Lil J, Jeremy. I'm sorry. Meg and Ray are dead."

Jeremy felt the world shattering around him.

* * *

Meg ached all over. Especially in her neck and shoulders. She opened her eyes and an immediate worry flooded her mind. She wasn't in the mines. Unless the mines had gotten a sudden renovation and installed wood panelled ceilings will she was out cold. She sat up, ignoring the pain in her back. It was a log cabin, unlike the lodge. All the lights were on and it was warm. She supposed that maybe this was the guest cabin she had been searching for before that random sinkhole ruined her night. But that begged the question; how did she get here?

She pushed herself to her feet. She felt incredibly light headed. Well, light all over. When she looked down, she noticed something that would have made her blood run cold. If her blood were still pumping. She was floating above the floor, only a few inches, but it was unmistakable. She had just now noticed that her handmade sling had also been returned, supporting her broken arm once more. But she had lost it when....That was right. She had died. Her hand reached up and felt the gaping hole in her upper chest where the monster had slammed her onto the stalagmite. She pulled he hand away and saw fresh blood stained across the skin. Of course. Cursed to spend the afterlife bleeding from an open wound and trapped in a cabin. At least it was better than the mines. 

She floated her way through the cabin. She noted all kinds of things about her new state. While she could walk, it was much easier to float. She wasn't able to really pick up anything, her hands just phased through them. If she really concentrated she could make them move. Only slightly. She floated into the kitchen, a few bedrooms. The cabin was well stocked. There was even an opened bag of Doritos on the counter. Someone had made it here. Ray, or even Gavin could have been here. "Hey, you done routing around in there?" A voice calls. Her suspicions confirmed. 

Meg floated into the front room, noting the purple hoodie and crop of short dark hair over the couch. "Ray!" Brown eyes peer over thick rimmed glasses and he smiles. "Turney, good to see ya." He pushed himself up and Meg notices something else shocking. Ray's head floats a few inches from his neck, blood staining his purple hoodie. He had claw indentions in his jaw and cheeks, obviously from the monster grabbing him. He rises from the couch and turns onto his stomach, head turning in a delayed motion. "They got you too, huh? That fuckin' blows." He had a ghostly DS in his hands. Meg wondered how he had gotten one of those in the afterlife. 

"We're... really dead?"

"Yep. Dead as dicks. Doomed to spend eternity on a shitty mountain. S'not all bad, though." He shrugged his ghostly shoulders. "You could be here all alone." Ray couldn't have been dead for very long, since Ryan had seen him alive just before he had found her. But he seemed to know leagues more about the afterlife than she did. She supposed the ironic art of wanting to be dead probably contributed to that. Meg floated closer to Ray, mimicking his pose. "Oh yeah. I can't wait to spend the rest of my days being ignored by you and your DS."Ray didn't even protest. "Lucky for you, I'm not the only one. Come on, there's some guys I want you to meet." 

Meg was admittedly curious. She knew everyone here already, and the only proof of other people passing here were the two skeletons she had found. It would be interesting to see what they looked like with flesh. Maybe eternity wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

"Alright. Take a can and a lighter. Do whatever you can to get the wendigos to chase you back here." Ryan and Lindsay each followed the instructions diligently. "And for the love of God, don't get yourselves killed. Two is too many." A nod from both parties. "Okay. Be safe out there. I'll join you in a few." 

"Bye Dad!" Lindsay called jokingly as she raced into the thick brush. Ryan paused. He glanced over his shoulder with sad eyes and nodded once more. Geoff knew he was having a hard time. They all were, but fate seemed to be fucking Ryan particularly hard. He watched as the blond disappeared into the treeline and then went back into the lodge. Michael had already gone upstairs to start packing up the bags and precious family heirlooms. Jeremy sat on the couch, reading through his texts.

"Mica says she misses us. Her Mom said we're invited to spend the next break at their place." That didn't sound like too bad of an idea. The Burton's had a very nice house that more likely than not wendigo-free. "She also said I should dye my hair purple, but that's not really relevant to the conversation." Geoff could tell that Jeremy was relieved. Mica wasn't here. So many of their friends weren't here and they wouldn't have to experience this. But they would still feel the aftershocks of the tragedy.

If they even believed that it happened.

The story itself was unbelievable. Geoff wasn't quite sure he was even sober enough to be experiencing it clearly. There were all kinds of wild animals, and the papers they had found could have influenced an intoxicated brain to perceive the unimaginable. Although he had never seen a bear or a bobcat behead someone. There was no denying that Ray died from that. And though he didn't exactly see Meg die he figured bears couldn't do that kind of damage. Unless Ryan was lying. But why would Ryan of all people lie?

Geoff ruffled Jeremy's hair and repeated the instructions once more. "And remember, if a wendigo beats us here, do not let it find you. Hide, lay down and stay still. Do not try to fight it. Even if you didn't have a snapped femur it would demolish you. Stay safe, don't be stupid. I'll be back."

"Be careful, okay?" Geoff patted Jeremy's shoulder. He would try.

Just as Geoff disappeared into night, Michael hauled the first few bags down stairs and deposited them in the doorway. He had changed into warmer clothes, a grey sweater and holey jeans with a beanie. "Aw, no more Nurse Jones. Shame to cover up them legs."

"God, shut up Lil J. Do your job." Jeremy laughed under his breath and hauled himself up. He wobbled a bit on one crutch, but proceeded anyways. The bags weren't too heavy, all they had were two days worth of clothes and some basic hygiene products. Plus Geoff had cleared a path to his truck so the snow wouldn't slow him down. By the time he got the first bag into the truck there was another one waiting for him. The cycle went on until he had all 8 bag in the truck. Then came the heavier stuff. Family photos, important documents, priceless vases and other decorations that Michael figured he couldn't bear to leave behind.

"Do you think they'll be mad that we burned the place down?" Michael shrugged. "After we tell them why I don't think they'll care. We can just buy another one in a less wendigo-y location. And if not then I don't really care. I'm a little burnt out on skiing anyways." Michael joined him in carrying the last few bags outside. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to sleep again. Every time I close my eyes I see Ray dying. Over and over again." Jeremy hadn't been there. So far he hadn't seen anyone die. He had seen the monster up close, he had seen what they could do. But he hadn't seen anyone die. He hadn't even seen a body yet. 

"If I could pour bleach directly into my brain, I would. Get that the fuck out of my head."

"It wouldn't be the only thing you'd get out."

"Let me be dramatic, I'm upset." The two of them leaned against the side of the lodge, not really willing to go back inside. They couldn't imagine how awful it would be to get stuck inside a lodge full of wendigos that was also on fire. So they lounged outside and talked. About everything and nothing important at the same time. About their friends, the ones they had lost and the ones who would never know the true terror of tonight. About the friends who were still here with them. "I... I don't know if we can trust everyone." Michael admits. "All of the people who are dead or missing were with Ryan. And who's the only one who saw Meg and Gav? Ryan. I don't think he would actually hurt anyone but what if..." He sighed in exasperation. 

"What if we're wrong about him?" Jeremy provides. Michael nodded. He clenched his hands into tight fists and crossed his arms. "He's barely said a damn word all night. Plus, Lindsay told me he was acting all jittery after he brought Ray back. That he just wanted to leave and go find Meg and Gavin." He paused like he was rolling the next thought around his mind. "But not you. You were out there getting chased by a monster and he didn't even care." Jeremy felt his chest tighten. 

That couldn't be the truth. Ryan wouldn't just not care about him. They were friends. He probably just didn't know that he was in trouble. No one could have known what was really out there. Except Ryan did know. He had seen them, had seen what they did to Ray's leg. If he knew that they were out there and that they not only could but wanted to kill everyone on this mountain, why would he have just brushed his well being off like that? Michael couldn't be right about this. But the points he was making...

Jeremy's train of thought was cut off by a buzzing noise. Michael groaned and reached into his pocket. His phone was ringing frantically.

CALL FROM: JACK P

Michael accepted the call and put it on speaker. "Patillo, my man! What's up? How's Australia?"

"Are you guys okay?!" The voice on the line cried. There was a clear panic in the tone. That wasn't normal for Jack. "Whoa, Jack, buddy. We're all.... we're mostly good. Why did you call?"

"I've been trying to Skype Lindsay and Ryan for two hours. They called Caiti and I and they sounded like they were in trouble. Something about Ray and blood? Is he okay, what the hell is happening?" A silence stuck in their throats. They just couldn't tell him, not now. "Jack, it's super late right now, on both ends. We'll tell you when you get back. Bye Jack!" Before he could protest he hung up and shut his phone off. "Yikes.

* * *

Lindsay whistled a merry tune to herself. The sky was beginning to fade from inky black to the first shades of dawn. Hopefully they could finish their job before then. She had been aimlessly wandered the woods, burning little marks on the trees she passed so she would remember which direction she had come. She hadn't seen anything, but she hadn't given up hope yet. She wouldn't allow herself to. If anyone else died on this land because she didn't do her job, she would never forgive herself. 

She upgraded her whistling to humming, and then to singing. She could hear movement around her, and a smile crept onto her lips. This could be it. She ducked behind a tree and prepared herself. She kept on singing, hearing the creature come closer and closer. She heard the growl right next to her ear and calmly tilted her hand back, pressed down on her aerosol can and sent flames into its face. It shrieked in pain and she pulled it away. Then she darted from her hiding spot and past the wendigo. Although, she did notice it only had three appendages instead of four before she took off, she still heard it come after her. All according to plan.

Ryan retraced the path he and Ray had taken until he found the long forgotten trail of blood once more. From there he just had to figure out where Gavin could have possibly fallen down. If he was in the condition that Meg and described to him there was a good chance a wendigo had at least tried to get him. Maybe it was still in the area. It took longer than he thought, but he did find what he was looking for. A ledge.

It was steep, but the ravine itself was not that deep. He could even see Gavin laying there at the bottom. From the squirms of pain he could tell that he was in fact, alive. For now. He just had to keep him that way until help came. Easier said than done. He watched as something crawled from the tunnels. Probably attracted by Gavin's whimpering. It was creeping towards him and Ryan felt a flush of panic. He wasn't going to sit back and watch this happen again.

"HEY!" He barked. The beast's head whipped up to glare at him. He beat his hands into the snowy ground and hollered nonsense until it started scaling the ravine wall. He pushed himself up and hid. The crunch of snow told him that it had reached the top and was coming closer. As fast as he could he darted from hiding place to a new one. He briefly saw the wendigo track him with its milky eyes. As long as he could keep the monster's attention, he knew he could safely get it back to the lodge. 

Geoff.... Geoff had gotten creative. He had stood completely defenseless, a bag slung over his shoulders. He had waited and waited for the wendigos to show up. With his luck, they would. And they did. He shrugged the bag off and reached inside. But instead of his handmade flamethrower, he pulled out something new and unexpected. A head. 

_Ray's head._

It had taken him so much to finally decide to pick it up. But he knew it could be useful to him. Besides, it would have been what Ray would have wanted. Probably. He held it at arms length, grasping the dark hair like a life line. He even shook it like one would shake a bag a treats for a pet. "Come get it ugly." The wendigo accepts the taunt and rushed forward, shrieking. Geoff side stepped the beast and used his free arm to grab it's disgustingly cold skin and hop onto its back, dangling the head in front of its face. "Heeya! Giddyup, boy!" He hollered in his best Texan drawl. He wrapped one hand around the neck and held the head out like a carrot on a stick. The wendigo ran, obviously trying to knock the teen off. But this was not Geoff's first rodeo, even though he was not originally from Texas.

He managed to steer the wendigo for a ways before the other one showed up. This one was bigger and much meaner looking. It chased behind them, right at his mount's heels. Finally things were getting interesting again. 

* * *

 

The lodge was a bit dull for the first time that night. Then they came crashing onto the scene. To Michael and Jeremy, Geoff Lazer Ramsey riding a deformed once-human cannibalistic beast while being chased by another one of those monsters emerging from the trees and screaming like a banshee should not have been one of the things they would have expected. But tonight had already been pretty fucking weird.

"GET OUT OF THE FUCKIN' WAY!!" Geoff shrieked, losing his grip on the wendigo's neck. He hit the snowy ground with a loud _OOF!_ and rolled out of the way, cradling something to his chest. The newly dismounted wendigo barreled into the house. The second came straight for Jeremy. It seemed they could still recognize weakness in their prey. "Not this again." Jeremy groaned as he tried to remain as still as possible while looking death directly in the face. Sweat began to bead on his temples and he could feel his muscles straining to wiggle and move. Gaping jaws loomed over him and he squeezed his eyes shut, believing he was 100% dead and finished when there was a sudden

**_BLAM!!_ **

The wendigo's head snapped away from Jeremy and it fell the ground. Not dead. Stunned and confused but not dead. Geoff retrieved his flamethrower and quickly armed himself. The second it was back to reality he took aim and fired. The beast was driven back into the lodge. Michael finally lowered his arm, gun clenched in his hand but switched back to safety.

"Once this is over, you tell me where the FUCK you got that, Jones." Michael shrugged and quirked his lips. Geoff sighed and tucked Ray's head back into his bag. He spotted the body lying in the snow a few yards away from the truck. 

The sky was turning light by the time Lindsay and Ryan both brought back their catch, Ryan first and Lindsay second. Her wendigo only had three long spidery limbs, which had probably helped things work out for her in the end. With the final creature wrangled inside they shut and locked the door. "Is it drenched?" Geoff asked. Michael nodded towards the empty jerry cans. "Alright. One my mark!"

"One!" Lindsay smiles wickedly.

"Two!" Michael looks at his friends and feels relief flood through him.

"Three!" A single tear slips down Ryan's dirt and blood stained cheek.

"NOW!" They all raise their weapons in sync and shoot, coating the kerosene in hot flames. They catch on and the gas from the burners that Michael and Jeremy had turned on eventually caught the flame licking at the inner walls of the lodge and ignited. The four wendigos screamed in pain as the heat burned away their flesh and released their tortured souls into the early morning. The sun had finally began to peek over the mountain tops and shine onto the crumbling structure. "We really went out in style." Lindsay murmured as she leaned her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. 

Ryan pointed into the early morning sky at the helicopter growing closer. If they listened close they could hear sirens as ambulances made their way up the path to them. 

_"We have visual. There appear to be survivors. 5 in total. We are going in."_

* * *

They had questions. They always have questions. They split the teens into different rooms, barely giving them a chance to wipe the blood, dirt, and soot from their grimy faces before an officer came in to ask them exactly what had happened on the mountain that night.

"We were lost-"

"-I hit my head really hard-"

"-and it chased us-"

"-it pinned me down and-"

"-I don't know. It's all really surreal." 

The officer nodded. "And tell me, son. What attacked you?"

"It was huge," Jeremy recounted, "and it really strong. Like it could crush you. And it did. It broke my leg with no hesitation."

"These... teeth." Lindsay muttered. She's asked if that tore up her face. "No no. I fell and hit my head. And dropped a plate on it. A bunch of little bits got stuck in my face. That's.... actually why we called you in the first place."

"It had wicked claws. Could slice you up like bologna if it wanted to." Geoff told them. 

"Monsters." Ryan insisted.

"I don't know." Michael whimpered. Michael hardly ever whimpered.

"What killed your friends?"

"I don't know."

"Did you suffer any injuries." Various affirmatives. A blow to the head, broken leg, dislocated shoulder. Two no's. A few bruises, but nothing physical. All had suffered severe mental trauma. The one who seemed most affected was Michael Jones. Every question lobed at him was met with a genuine "I don't know." Or something similar. Although when asked of his friends, he suddenly had a lot to say. Wondering if they had found his best friend yet, if they had recovered any bodies. "I think someone had something to do with it."

"Someone, not something."

"Yes." 

"Care to elaborate?"

"Actually, yes."

* * *

 

It took them less than a week to find Meg's body. After that it took less than an hour to find Gavin. Miraculously, still alive. But barely. He was in ICU for weeks with no contact. Winter break ended before he was allowed to have visitors. The first thing they received was sympathy. And pity. Mostly pity. Thick sadness hung in the air everywhere they went. People knew them from around. They all knew Meg more than Ray. Mostly because he kept to himself in the past. But that didn't mean he didn't have friends. Mourners.

Though everyone wanted to see Gavin, Ryan asked to see him first. Though it took lots and lots of convincing, he won that right. It pained Ryan to see his friend hooked up to countless machines just to keep him alive. But he was awake. Thick bandages wrapped across the cuts on his chest and casts on his legs and there was a constant beep but there he was. Heart beating, blood pumping, lungs filling and he was alive! "Rye bread." He said. It was raspy and barely above a whisper. Ryan smiled anyways. 

He sat by his bedside and placed a gentle hand on his friend's. "Gavin. God, this is so unreal."

"I'm just glad you're here. It got super lonely with all those doctors and nurses comin' in and out. All they wanna know is if you're still kicking. No one wants to tell me what happened. I missed so much."

"That's....what I'm here to tell you." Ryan tells him everything. Gavin laughs when he learns that Ryan finally gathered the courage to sort of confess. And Ryan can feel his heart shatter when he tells him what happened shortly after. "X-Ray is gone? That can't be right."

"It gets worse, Gav. I'm really sorry. Meg.... Meg got very hurt. The monster that hurt you and Ray got her too. And she-"

"Don't." Gavin chokes out. Ryan looked up and saw the tears on his face. "I know what you're going to say.... But I don't want to believe it." Ryan found himself crying as well. "We're postponing the funeral until you get better. Well, at least until you can leave the hospital."

"Don't do that either. I'm not the only one who's grieving. Don't withhold closure from people just because of me. I'm not getting out for a long long time."

"But they would want you there."

"I know. But we.... we obviously can't always get what we want." Gavin wipes away tears. Ryan reluctantly agreed.

* * *

"Someone once told that losing someone is like a train station. The person you've lost is on a train leaving the station and we're all waving goodbye. Some of us are simply just standing and waving, others are calling goodbye. But then some of us are chasing the train. Calling after them. Asking them to come back. We all.... we all experience grief differently." Michael looked out at the sea of crying faces. The front row is lined with the mountain's survivors and Jack and Mica. Poor Mica. She was wrecked. Everyone else had become sort of numb. 

They had opted for a joint funeral. Cheaper for Ray's mother. Easier for everyone else's emotions. Meg looked like a doll. With perfect skin, pursed heart shaped lips painted a peachy pink. Her hair framing her face perfectly. The coroner had covered her bruises and set her broken bones and it looked like she could wake up at any moment.That she would sit up and smile. Tell everyone "Hey what's with all this sad shit? Where are those beautiful smiles?" She would fill the sad space with her smiles and her love and it would all be okay! 

Ray had a closed casket. No visitation.

The service was short and sweet, the traditional funeral. People spoke, they played songs that they two would have loved. They all drove out to the graveyard to lay their bodies to rest and then back to the church for a lunch. 

Like Michael said. Everyone was experiencing their grief differently. Lindsay had her arms wrapped around Mica and Jeremy. They were all calling for the train to stop. For them to come back. Jack and Geoff and Ryan sat silently by themselves. Standing and waving goodbye. There was even a few making morbid jokes about death itself. They were in a whole new category.

Michael couldn't stand it. He felt sick inside. Some of them knew what happened. Most of them didn't. For once in his life he didn't want to be a part of the majority. He wanted to know what happened. Why it happened. How it happened. His parents had told him that he would never remember. And for whatever reason he couldn't find the papers. Maybe he had left them with Geoff and they had gotten lost? Or they had destroyed them like he knew they would. But despite everything there was one thing he was certain of.

He was right all along.

* * *

"FREAK!" The voice was faceless but it came with a sharp shove. Ryan's shoulder hit the locker with a sharp bang and he winced. He still got subtle pains in his shoulder, despite the fact that it had been nearly months now. The harassment had started a few weeks after the funeral. He wasn't sure why or who started it. He didn't even have a good idea. He didn't think he had done anything. Alright, people had called him freak before. He was a bit weird, no denying. The constant physical harassment was new. 

"Hey, Ryan?" Micae questioned. He turned to the short girl. "Why don't you tell anyone? That they do this to you?" Ryan shrugged. He didn't know why he put up with it either. He was strong enough to fight back. Just didn't want to. "Can't tell you Mica. To prove I'm better than they are?"

"Well, I think you're doing a good job. A true gentle giant." Mica reached up and rubbed his arm. Ryan was about to open his mouth to respond when suddenly he was shoved forward. His face met the ground before he knew it and had the chance to catch himself. "Murderer!" Someone called. The voice was familiar, but also remained faceless. For now. Mica hauled him to his feet and called insults after the attacker. Ah. So they were still on that. "You okay?"Ryan sighed. "I'm fine."

"I don't mean your face. They called you a-" 

"I know." 

"But doesn't that bother you?! At all? They're accusing of killing two people that you loved! Meg was your best friend and Ray was... well you know." Ryan nodded. "Mica. Can I tell you something?"

"Yes?"

"I miss them."

"I know."

"And I didn't hurt them."

"I.....I know." 

He can't help but note the hesitation in her voice. The bell rings in his head, echoing around like the thoughts that hadn't left him since that night on Campbell Mountain. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. That's all folks!  
> In all seriousness, I had so much fun writing this story. I had never really written a multi chapter story before and even then only close friends would read them. This is the first story I've ever really thought about and fleshed out like this. And you guys liked it! I wish I had taken the butterfly effect into account more than I did since it's a major factor in the game. Plus I was really infrequent with updates. So here's a super kudos to all of you who stuck through it to the end! I love you guys!
> 
> BTW the funeral scene was written from a recent personal experience. A very close friend of mine died and what Michael says is an actual thing that our English teacher told our class the day after he passed. It was hard for a long long time and I kind of let my grief direct that part of the story.


End file.
